Felipe Drugovich was left astonished after a maiden IndyCar testing debut at Barber Motorsports Park with Chip Ganassi Racing final Monday.
The Brazilian, who additionally serves because the reserve driver for Aston Martin’s System 1 group, obtained his first style of Indy automobile equipment on the 17-turn pure terrain highway course that options roughly 80 toes of elevation change all through its 2.3 miles. He ended up logging 129 laps, with an unofficial greatest time of 1m07.631s.
Total, there have been loads of sudden however nice experiences for the 2022 System 2 champion.
“The driving fashion may be very completely different,” Drugovich advised Motorsport.com. “I used to be stunned by the velocity, however on the identical time it was very completely different from what I assumed it could be. I imagined it could be similar to an F2 automobile and even the driving fashion is just not that completely different, however the feeling the automobile provides you is extraordinarily completely different from something I’ve ever pushed. The automobile has a distinct geometry, the tires they use are actually good, with a softer sidewall and you’re feeling the automobile transferring beneath you much more.
“I believe it was an excellent expertise for me. When it comes to occasions, I did nicely, I drove nicely, I confirmed what I may do. Though it’s a take a look at with a rookie driver within the collection, they use it to check the automobile itself, as a result of even there the exams are very restricted, so we examined quite a lot of issues for the group when it comes to setup and so they actually appreciated the suggestions, so I’m very pleased with the outcomes.”
Whereas Chip Ganassi Racing’s newly-crowned three-time IndyCar Sequence champion Alex Palou delivered the quickest qualifying lap at 1m05.5862s — which occurred through the opening spherical again in April on the circuit based mostly in Birmingham, Alabama — it was previous to the up to date hybrid unit. Though the hybrid unit helps increase an Indy automobile to over 800 horsepower, it additionally provides nicely over 100lbs of weight.
Palou was a part of a March take a look at with the hybrid at Barber, the place he hit laps slightly below 1m08s.
“We had a reference,” stated Drugovich, who piloted CGR’s No. 11 Honda-powered entry. “For individuals who do not know, the Barber spherical this yr was held earlier than they’d upgraded the automobile, which is the hybrid half, so this hybrid within the automobile added nearly 80 kilos and that made it nearly 1 second slower. So, you may’t evaluate the race occasions, however they’d accomplished a take a look at earlier than that, within the pre-season, with the hybrid already on that monitor and the reference they’d I used to be being quicker. It is troublesome to match this due to the monitor situations and all the things else, particularly as a result of they had been simply beginning out with the hybrid and, logically, they’ve improved since then.
“For the reason that morning I’ve already been very near the best time, utilizing the primary set of tires. Ultimately, I began quicker, so I confirmed the group that I am prepared. It is my first contact with the automobile and I am not 100% [adapted] to single-seaters once more, so I am certain that the longer I keep on this automobile or another single-seater, I will proceed to enhance and get again to my peak.”
Drugovich was additionally fast to notice how the take a look at has furthered curiosity to compete in North America’s premier open-wheel championship, and possibly by as early as 2025.
“Waiting for subsequent yr, I believe IndyCar is without doubt one of the alternatives,” Drugovich stated.
“We’re learning it. They modified the rules, so every group could have a most of three automobiles. This take a look at was deliberate since final yr. It did not occur earlier than due to scheduling clashes. However it occurred this yr. It was a very cool alternative for me to get entangled within the American world of motorsports. I had already accomplished one thing with Cadillac and Motion Categorical (on the 24 Hours of Le Mans), however now I truly examined an IndyCar, which was actually good.”
