Reigning double Australian Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin has described his recent maiden IndyCar outing as “everything I dreamed of”, following his Sebring test.
The New Zealander impressed Team Penske during his 141 laps around the shortened layout of the Sebring International Raceway and was able to gain some experience in a wide variety of scenarios.
During the test, fellow Penske stable-mates Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden were also in attendance to support McLaughlin’s debut outing in the Dallara IR18.
After his run, McLaughlin said that he was still getting used to the downforce of the open-wheel car, stating: “The old neck is pretty sore.
“I got a feel for everything: qualifying runs, race runs, over long runs, fuel loads, and pit exits. Trusting the grip that I have underneath me is the biggest thing I’ve learned.
“It was hard to get out of the habits I’ve been used to for 10 years in Supercars.
“Unreal. It’s a beast. Everything I dreamed of.”
Team Penske President Tim Cindric was present for the test day and said that he is evaluating whether the team will run McLaughlin at next month’s ‘Spring Training’ test session at the Circuit of the Americas, with an eye for a potential race outing during the 2020 season.
McLaughlin for his part is keeping his hopes up for more IndyCar running: “Hopefully, maybe I’ll have another opportunity, who knows. But I’m really proud and it was a big tick in my bucket list for sure.”
The New Zealander also got to drive with the aeroscreen on the car with the device being implemented into the series this season.
Having spent the majority of his racing career in a saloon car, McLaughlin expressed his view that the new-for-2020 aeroscreen will not affect the drivers.
“It’s very oblivious,” added McLaughlin. “You don’t really notice it.
“Probably towards the end when it got darker, the reflections of the lights from the dash. That’s probably the main thing I felt.
“But overall, it’s a good thing and doesn’t really affect the drivers at all.”
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