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©1999 SpeedCenter Publishing Homestead, Florida, February 8, 1999 - On the heels of an outstanding FedEx CART Championship Spring Training session last week, where they recorded the two fastest times, Player's drivers Patrick Carpentier and Greg Moore continued their strong performances in two days of testing on a road circuit. For the first time in off-season testing, the two drivers put in their laps with the new 1999 Mercedes engine, a development that Player's Racing Development manager Richard Spénard described as "very encouraging." After spending some of the early-session time tuning the engine to obtain the proper adjustments and conducting a few changes with the chassis to solve a minor understeer problem, the Player's team had satisfying results. "We were all still in a very upbeat mood after the Spring Training performances last week, and this latest session was good for maintaining that same ambiance" remarked Carpentier, the Joliette, Que., driver. "It was good to be able to put some laps on the new engine and to have things go so well. Overall, it was a very positive experience for the Player's team." Following the Spring Training session on ovals last week, the Homestead track that is the site of the first CART race of the 1999 season on March 21, was transformed into a road circuit for the two days of testing. Moore said the course layout had plenty of turns and required a lot of braking, and was very representative of a road circuit in the CART series. "This was an excellent preparation for what we'll be facing once the season starts," added the Maple Ridge, B.C. driver. "We were able to learn a lot about how the car reacts with the new Mercedes engine and the two days were defintely beneficial for the entire Player's team." Fellow Canadian Steve Challis, Moore's chief engineer, classified the two-day session as a success. "We're very pleased with the progress of the chassis and the adjustments that we made during the sessions will help us, both on road circuits and ovals, as we go into the CART season," he declared. The next testing sessions for the Player's CART drivers will take place February 14-15 at the Firebird track in Phoenix, Arizona. At the opening race in Homestead on March 21, the Player's team will be out to win its 10th CART pole since 1995, when Jacques Villeneuve achieved the distinction. Greg Moore earned the pole at Homestead last year, the first of four poles he won in 1998. Source: Player's Racing Team |
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