©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Motorola to PacWest In addition, PacWest owner Bruce McCaw, who also fields a car for Mauricio Gugelmin (sponsored by Hollywood cigarettes), has added Allen McDonald, Jim Hamilton and Roberto Trevisan to his technical staff. Tony Cicale confirmed at Team Green CART Star To Race Chili Bowl Fangio’s Fast Time Highlights AAR Testing After converting the remaining chassis to a road course configuration on Tuesday and Wednesday, Fangio and AAR will begin two days of testing on the road course at Sebring International Raceway on Thursday, January 8. Unser And Team Penske Look For Strong 1997 "Paul and I are working together very hard and we’re both looking forward to a great ’97 season," Unser said. "We all know we didn’t have the best season last year. We’ve been backed in a corner before and we’ve always come out swinging. This year will be no different, and our number one concentration will be the PPG Cup." Both Tracy and Unser have been pleased with the new Penske chassis and latest Mercedes motor. "Nigel Bennett and John Travis have done a great job with the design of the new car," Unser said. "We’ve put plenty of miles on the car and so far it has been great. The main difference between this year’s car from last year is the ’97 Penske Mercedes has real good mechanical grip. Obviously we won’t have our final answers on how we stack up until race day at the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami, but so far we’re very pleased." Team Penske will test again at Homestead before the season opens including CART Spring Training where fans can see Unser, Tracy and the other stars of the PPG Cup in action. The event is scheduled for January 30 through February 1. Check the EVENTS button on the CART.com front page for ticket information. "I really enjoy Spring Training because it gives us a preliminary chance to measure up against the competition," Unser said. "It will also give us a chance to compare ourselves with the other teams and how they’ve dealt with the new changes in the rules and the new changes to the Homestead track." Others testing at Homestead the same time as the Penske group included 1996 PPG Cup champion Jimmy Vasser for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, Patrick Racing teammates Scott Pruett and Raul Boesel, Parker Johnstone and Team KOOL Green and AAR teammates Juan Manuel Fangio PJ Jones. Vasser was reported unofficially fastest of the eight drivers on the Homestead oval while Fangio was uninjured after hitting the wall in Turn Three on Monday. Source: CART News Service |