Plowman Returns to the IndyCar Cockpit at Sebring Test (Update)
02/20/14
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| Plowman (L) talks to engineer Don Halliday (C) |
After a full day of testing the ABC Supply Honda IndyCar, rookie driver Martin Plowman commented, “It was just like riding a bike."
In context, Plowman was referring to the comfort level he felt in the cockpit after a two year, five month absence from open wheel racing. “It was a special moment pulling away from the pits for the first time," the 26-year-old Englishman said. “Before today I was a little bit nervous about getting back up to speed, you have these self-doubts sometimes and they all disappeared by lap one. It was just like riding a bike. By the end of lap eight I was already up to speed and on the pace so it was a great boost of confidence to know that I can just jump in and get straight to work."
Team owner A.J. Foyt flew in from Houston to meet the rookie and watch him adapt to the Dallara DW12 chassis which Plowman drove for the first time today.
“It was the first time I met Martin and I thought he worked very well today," said Foyt, who was back at the track for the first time since having his right knee replaced in mid-December. “I thought he ran a fine test for us because we ran a lot of different things on the car and he gave good feedback. I was very happy with the way things went. I think he’ll be a great contender."
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| Plowman talks to Tom Semik |
Plowman logged 109 laps around a modified Sebring International Raceway, which is shortened to 1.67 miles for IndyCar testing. Regular No. 14 driver Takuma Sato, who had tested at the track on Monday, was on hand to help his Indy Double teammate.
“The day went very well I thought," Plowman said. “You can’t read much into the times here because the track is changing all the time, people are running different fuel loads, or they’re on new tires, where we were focusing on doing a lot of different experiments. We had a couple of very strong runs there at the end on used tires, which gave us confidence. More importantly, we learned a lot of things that we can take with us to my first race at the Indy Grand Prix."
Plowman will drive the Al-Fe Heat Treating Honda in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 10th. He will drive the No. 41 ABC Supply Honda in the Indianapolis 500 on May 25th. Both races will be broadcast live by ABC-TV.