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CHAMP CAR: Viso and Battistini Complete Minardi Test
Written by: RACER Staff   http://www.racer.com
12/04/2007 - 07:00 PM
Sebring, Fla.
 
Viso (above) and Battistini logged over 300 miles each at Sebring. (Greg Aleck/Fastlines photo) ยป More Photos


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Minardi Team USA began its evaluations of possible '08 drivers this week at Sebring, when GP2 veteran Ernesto Viso of Venezuela and Formula 3 standout Dillon Battistini, who hails from England, completed a two-day test at Sebring International Raceway. The pair completed nearly 300 miles each around the 1.669 mile road course.

According to the team, both men ended up logging "very competitive times."

"I am very happy with the two days of testing with Minardi Team USA, and I feel we had a very productive test," said Viso, who's spent the past two season in Formula 1's premier feeding series. "I got to know the car, and I gained a better understanding of the behavior of this chassis. It is different from what I am used to, but I figured it out pretty quickly. I think we turned some competitive lap times and I believe even faster than in the previous tests. We worked on a lot of set-up changes, and I hope my feedback has helped the engineers."

"The test went very well for me," Battistini added. "Jumping into this car straight away after F3 is a substantial jump, but considering, I am quite happy with what we achieved in such a short amount
of time. Things went as well as I could have ever hoped for. The team is wonderful, all the guys were great, and I learned a lot from everyone. We made a lot of progress developing the car, we worked through our program, and I'm pleased to have helped in that way.

"The amount of power it has is fantastic, but very manageable. Hopefully this test has given my backers the confidence to allow me to be in Champ Car full-time in 2008 and I'm excited to be a part of it."



Adam Cooper explores how Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari pulled off their World Championship comeback in our January issue, on sale now.


Team principal Keith Wiggins concluded: "Ernesto turned some very competitive times over the course of the two days; he worked very well with all the crew, and we were all very impressed with his on and off-track conduct. I was also impressed with Dillon with his professional approach and feedback. It was more of a jump for him from F3 but he definitely proved that with enough time in the car he'll be a good addition to the Champ Car World Series."

Both drivers hope to be back at Sebring for the first Champ Car open test of 2008 next February.