While they fell the first rains of the day in the Paddock of the MSR Houston this morning, runner-up 2006 of the Champ Car World Series Justin Wilson watched the sky and felt that it looked myself a little like his mother country, Great Britain.
When progressing the day Wilson the fastest time of the day in first of two days abiertos of sessions of tests of the Champ Car in the circuit of 2,38 miles of the MSR Houston felt more and more in house, since while the flood created through paddock an English Channel in miniature Wilson was very calm in rain, registering.
Wilson marked in rain a fast time of 1:30.162 (95,029 mph) in a more appropriate day for boats than for Champ Cars. Wilson was followed of the three times defending champion Sebastien Bourdais, who obtained a time of 1:30.378 (94,802 mph), being both pilots which they managed to break the barrier of the 92 seconds, improving to the rest of the pilots by more than 1,5 seconds.
“I believe that it is very important us to test in rain, all the miles that you can run in these cars with wet floor are a great aid for the learning process”, said Wilson. “We learned much today, the car was very reliable and ran all the day without no problem and we could work much. Still we have much land to cross to be ready for the season opener, and hoped that tomorrow he is dry to work more”.
The ex- champion of the series Paul Tracy was today in the third site but he only ran 14 returns whereas Wilson and Bourdais ran more than 50. The pilot of tests of the Equipment Minardi the USA Robert Doornbos had the one of the exits most impressive of the novices, marking quarter best time of the day with 1:32.286 (92,842 mph). The native pilot of Monte Carlo ran his second complete day of tests within the Champ Car with the Equipment Minardi the USA and in spite of rain he took this opportunity to the maximum.
“I am already being accustomed to the car and rain made everything more difficult, but at the same time he was better for me”, said Doornbos. “I am customary to only catch the TC (traction control) in the cars of F1 but he needed here to use the right foot like my control, that is one of the things that make good to the Champ Car, since the ability of the pilot plays a very important role in the success of the equipment”.
The defending champion of Australia Nelson Philippe had a call of last moment to fulfill his tasks of test for Conquest Racing in Houston and compensated the faith of the proprietor of the equipment, Eric Bachelart, when taking to the car #34 to the fifth place in the table of speeds of today. Philippe today ran 26 returns with its better time in 1:32.847 (92,281 mph) and was aircraft commander in proving the new procedure of exit of the Champ Car when it was practiced for the first time today.
“It was very good for returning with Eric for the tests and the first time that the car left, which was with very good speed for us. The equipment did a good work when preparing it”, said Philippe. “Still they do not have any data in the car of Sebring and the power to be that expresses at the outset was very impressive. I am not safe where I am going to finish this year but Eric said to me that she loved a pilot with a little experience to prove the car and I was very I content to do it”.
The combatants of the year last through the title Champ Car Atlantic, Graham Rahal and Simon Pagenaud respectively complied in whom they hope to be his new seats for the 2007 within the Champ Car World Series, trying for Newman/Haas Racing and the Australia Equipment. Rahal was the sixth fastest one of the day whereas Pagenaud was number 14 in the alignment of 15 pilots. Rahal and Bourdais were aircraft commander in going again to the track in afternoon when rain finally had lowered, and the young pilot of Ohio found his speed when leaving with his Co-equipero of the NHR.
“I ran my very easy faster return and believe that we are going to be very fast in dry conditions”, Rahal said.
The veteran Alex Tagliani hoped to see drier conditions in his Rocketsports car while the equipment with base in Michigan continued looking for its better moment with the new chassis Panoz DP01. Tagliani was in place 13 and it only could increase 19 returns to him to his total of preseason in wet Monday.
“The climate affected much to us because it did not allow us to analyze our changes as well as we needed”, Tagliani said. “In conditions like these, beams changes but when desire time, you can asegurarte if the realized changes improved to the car or the one that the track was dry in some places, which did more express to you. We will very continue working it last to improve”.
Second of after open tests Champ Car of preseason it will tomorrow continue with a complete day of tests, finishing with one hour complete of practices for the stopped exit.

Next the times of the session of Monday:

1) Justin Wilson - #9 CDW/RuSPORT - 1:30.162 /95,029 mph/59 returned
2) Sebastien Bourdais - #1 McDonald's/Newman/Haas Racing - 1:30.378 /94,802/56 returns
3) Paul Tracy - #3 Indeck/Forsythe Championship Racing - 1:32.063 /93,067/14 returns
4) Robert Doornbos - #14 Minardi Team the USA - 1:32.286 /92,842/48 returns
5) Nelson Philippe - #34 Conquest Racing - 1:32.847 /92,281/26 returns
6) Graham Rahal - #2 Newman/Haas Racing - 1:33.163 /91,968/54 returns
7) Neel Jani - #21 Red Bull PKV Racing - 1:33.168 /91,963/8 returns
8) Alex Figge - #29 Pacific Coast Motorsports - 1:33.981 /91,167/25 returns
9) Will Power - #5 Team Australia - 1:34.256 /90,901/8 returns
10) Andreas Wirth - #19 Dale Coyne Racing - 1:34.314 /90,845/51 returns
11) Serbian Oriol - #10 RuSPORT - 1:34.989 /90,200/83 returns
12) Ryan Dalziel - #28 Pacific Coast Motorsports - 1:35.573 /89,649/33 returns
13) Alex Tagliani - #8 Rocketsports Racing - 1:35.714 /89,517/19 returns
14) Simon Pagenaud - #15 Team Australia - 1:35.719 /89,512/9 returns
15) Katherine Legge - #11 Dale Coyne Racing - 1:36.215 /89,051/40 returns

Source: http://www.champcarworldseries.com/