Back to the Future: Tagliani has a solid outing in Rocketsports' new DP01 Champ Car

EAST LANSING, Michigan (January 23, 2007) – Despite only running 27 laps around the 1.8-mile short course at Sebring International Raceway today in Sebring, Florida, driver Alex Tagliani and the Rocketsports Racing team were able have a good first impression of the new Panoz DP01 Champ Car and find exactly what they needed in order for continued success during their three-day run.

“It was a good shakedown with the new DP01 Champ Car for me and the Rocketsports team,” said driver Alex Tagliani. “We did not do many laps today, but we learned a lot and are ready to move forward during the next two days of testing. What today did show was that the Rocketsports team was well prepared for this test because we went out on track and had no problems. Overall I feel confident and comfortable because I feel that the team has put together a reliable car. The new Panoz DP01 Champ Car worked perfect and it was a pleasure to drive.

“What we were able to accomplish today was finding the limits of the car,” continued Tagliani. “It was actually fairly easy and we did not have to struggle to get to that point. That really helps us out while we continue to run down here in Sebring this week. Now that we have found that limit on the new car, we can start to work on finding a way to make it go quicker. Our future ahead will be focusing on finding a setup that creates a quicker car. We know that the car is running, and there are no problems, so we are off to a great start and excited about the days ahead.”

Participating in the first of three Champ Car Open Tests in preparation for the 2007 Champ Car season opener in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 8, Rocketsports Racing and driver Alex Tagliani will have two more days of testing in Sebring, Florida. On track activities for the Champ Cars tomorrow will include two sessions, run from 9:45 a.m. EST � 12:00 p.m. and from 2:00 � 3:30 p.m., as they continue to share track time with the American Le Mans Series. The final day of testing down in Florida will give the team all the time they need as the track will be open for the Champ Cars to run solely from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. To follow the team’s progress throughout the next couple of days, log on to http://www.champcar.ws/ and check out the live Timing and Scoring feed during the times previously listed.

By Heather Haupt // heatherh@rocketsportsracing.com