Honda Racing Report
Sunday, February 10, 2002
CART "Sneak Preview" Open Practice Recap
Circuit: Laguna Seca Raceway (2.24-mile road course), Monterey,
CA
Weather: Clear, mild, 72-degrees F
Combined Practice Times:
Ps. Driver Team Manufacturer Lap Time Average Speed 1. Cristiano da Matta Newman-Haas Racing Toyota 1:08.981 116.797 mph 2. Patrick Carpentier Player's Forsythe Racing Ford Cosworth 1:09.519 115.893 mph 3. Alex Tagliani Player's Forsythe Racing Ford Cosworth 1:09.545 115.850 mph 4. Bruno Junqueira Target/Chip Ganassi Toyota 1:09.633 115.704 mph 5. Oriol Servia PacWest Racing Toyota 1:09.700 115.593 mph 6. Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Honda 1:09.720 115.559 mph 7. Christian Fittipaldi Newman-Haas Racing Toyota 1:09.726 115.549 mph 8. Scott Dixon PacWest Racing Toyota 1:09.786 115.450 mph 9. Townsend Bell-R Patrick Racing Toyota 1:09.880 115.295 mph 10. Kenny Brack Target/Chip Ganassi Toyota 1:09.901 115.260 mph 12. Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing Honda 1:09.970 115.146 mph 13. Michael Andretti Team Motorola Honda 1:09.982 115.127 mph 17. Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green Honda 1:10.323 114.568 mph 18. Shinji Nakano Fernandez Racing Honda 1:10.361 114.507 mph 19. Adrian Fernandez Fernandez Racing Honda 1:10.418 114.414 mph
Franchitti Paces Honda Effort at "Sneak Preview"
Dario Franchitti led the way for Honda-powered entries as the two-day open test known as CART "Sneak Preview" came to a close at Laguna Seca Raceway in central California. Despite running only a handful of laps on Saturday due to a persistent electrical malfunction, Franchitti and his Team KOOL Green crew posted the second fastest time in the morning practice session today and finished the test sixth overall.
Today was the second and final day of Sneak Preview, held for the first time at the Laguna Seca road course after originating at the Miami-Homestead Speedway oval in 1996. The pre-season event is unique in that it is the only FedEx Championship Series test session open to the general public, with almost all drivers and teams in the series taking part. Cristiano da Matta, a three-race winner last year with Newman-Haas Racing, led the way for the weekend.
In addition to Franchitti, Tony Kanaan ran fourth quickest this morning to end the test 12th overall, followed by Michael Andretti in his Team Motorola Honda. Paul Tracy was next up for Honda, followed by Fernandez Racing teammates Shinji Nakano and Adrian Fernandez.
Dario Franchitti (#27 Team KOOL Green Honda): "It wasn't a bad day at all for us. We managed to end up in pretty decent position, even though we focused more on working through our test program in a logical manner rather than just sticking on a fresh set of tires and going for a time. We missed a lot of time yesterday with a misfire, so it was good to get in a full day today. The car felt very good this morning and we concentrated on our work list, trying different combinations to improve the car. Today was good, but we're still going to be very busy between now and (the first race in) Monterrey, Mexico next month."