Two IndyCar teams participated in a private pre-season test at Sebring International Raceway on Monday, completing laps from early morning light until rain brought and early end to the day.
The popular test track remained under favorable weather for much of the day, but the late afternoon saw the formation of heavy thunderstorms typical for the area.
While the weather cooperated, the day served as a chance for setups to be tested and for a couple drivers to get more familiar with their new teams.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was one of the teams present at the historic Florida circuit, logging some track time with their rookie Christian Lundgaard.
Lundgaard is preparing for his first full season in IndyCar, after earning a seat following an impressive fourth-place start and 12th place finish in his one and only outing last season on the Indianapolis road course.
Following the afternoon downpour, Lundgaard took to social media to relate how quickly he got in the groove, saying, “Good day today. Unfortunately, it ended with some rain in the afternoon around 4:00.
“We didn’t get the last hour of running, which is a bit unfortunate. I think we had something lined up that could potentially have been better.
“Times looked strong straight away from the morning. I think it took around five laps and I was straight on the pace. So that’s good for our first time around here. Sebring is a bumpy track; I can now confirm that after having only done it at the sim at home and then coming here.
“It’s great to be back in the car. I’m looking forward in about a month or so to be back here in Sebring with all the guys and the two other cars. Today’s been awesome. Absolutely awesome!”
Meyer Shank Racing shared the track with RLL on Monday, with Simon Pagenaud getting some seat time alongside his new team-mate Helio Castroneves while running through their preseason checklist.
This year will be the first time Pagenaud will drive for a team other than Team Penske since his days at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2014, so he has some adjustments to make ahead of the season opener in St. Petersburg.
Castroneves and Pagenaud will team up next for the Rolex 24 from Daytona International Speedway, joining Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Jarvis in the prototype class in just over two weeks’ time.
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