Citgo Racing Daytona test notes

Duno tests with Carpentier at Daytona

September 26, 2006 Los Angeles, CA--CITGO Racing's Milka Duno, open-wheel veteran Patrick Carpentier and the CITGO Racing team completed a two-day test last week at Daytona International Raceway in preparation for the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Milka and Patrick teamed for the first time at this season's Sonoma 250 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA in August - where they earned a strong 7th place finish. Their #11 CITGO Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype reached podium territory by advancing as high as 3rd, and remained in the top-five for many laps before eventually taking the checkered flag 7th overall.

The team set three goals for the Daytona test. The first priority was testing setups for the 24-hour classic in 2007. The second priority was determining if both Milka and Patrick could drive similar setups - and the third priority was testing aerodynamic devices and to quantify add-on component effectiveness.

Peter Baron

"We were thrilled with the results of our test. Patrick has gelled well with the team and we are excited about the prospects of running with Patrick for '07. The combination of Milka and Patrick, we believe, has the most potential. This was evident in Patrick running some phenomenal laps and Milka consistently lapping under her personal best - in less than favorable conditions."

Milka Duno

"Patrick and I did very well at Sonoma and it was great racing with him -- so it was wonderful to have him with us at the test. The test went really well and it's apparent that we all work very well together as a team - and very effectively. We set some objectives for the test and we realized them. It was very productive."

Patrick Carpentier

"It was a great test. I ran the first day and Milka ran most of the second. It was good. We seemed to like pretty much the same things on the car. She changed a few things and made some major gains. I really like the way things are going. For me it was a very positive test.

Milka is very impressive under braking -- she can brake really late -- so I think she can be very, very fast. So, for me it is very encouraging. It was good to be with the CITGO team for the test. Hopefully we'll finalize some stuff and hopefully we can work together next season -- so we will see what happens. It was a good, fun test. I always seem to have a really good time with these guys!"

-credit: hc