CART: Gugelmin and Dixon Team up at Sebring

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

(Sebring, FL) – Veteran Mauricio Gugelmin joined his PacWest teammate, Scott Dixon, for the final leg of the teams’ two-day Sebring test Thursday. Dixon, who is trying to overcome the flu bug, returned for his second consecutive day of running.

Gugelmin, who last tested on February 1, at Homestead, completed approximately 130 miles on the Florida road course. His quick lap for the day was timed at 51.6 seconds. That time was posted during the first half of the day, before some unscheduled downtime arose while the PacWest crew changed out some components on the #17 Nextel PacWest Toyota.

Dixon finished his two-day run by completing approximately 160 miles, while improving on his Wednesday time of 51.4 seconds. Dixon posted a fast lap of 51 seconds flat, which was quicker than several of the other nine competitors on the course.

Tony Kanaan posted the quickest time of the day with a 50.6-second lap, while former CART champion Alex Zanardi ran 50.9-second lap.

Next on the PacWest testing schedule will be a two-day session on February 14-15, on the picturesque road course of Laguna Seca.

MAURICIO GUGELMIN - #17 NEXTEL PACWEST TOYOTA

“Thursday wasn’t the greatest testing day I’ve ever had, but I’m still happy with what we learned,” said Gugelmin. “We had about three hours of downtime in the early afternoon for a gear and brake change, but I was able to get back on the track for a couple of hours before the checkered flag flew. I don’t feel as though I went as fast as my car is capable of running, and I battled push for most of the day. Like I said, we did learn some valuable information about the car today, so I’m not displeased with our efforts. It was just a short day.”

SCOTT DIXON - # 18 PACWEST TOYOTA

“I felt much better on Thursday, and I think I’m finally over this flu bug,” said Dixon. “I was able to improve on Wednesday’s quick time, which I’m happy about, and we were able to work through our engineering program as scripted. We worked on several things during the day, and again, the more seat-time I’m able to get now will only benefit PacWest and me down the road. My crew has just been fantastic, and I couldn’t be happier with my opportunity to run Champ Cars for Mr. McCaw and PacWest.”

Text Provided By Tom Hollett

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