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Barracuda Racing Ready for 2013 Season After Barber Open Test

Topics:  Alex Tagliani

Barracuda Racing Ready for 2013 Season After Barber Open Test

Monica Hilton
Bryan Herta Autosport
March 14, 2013

Leeds, AL – After the annual IZOD IndyCar Media Day and four sessions on track at Barber Motorsports Park, Alex Tagliani has his sights set on victory lane in 2013.

The French Canadian driver turned a total of 105 laps during the two days on the scenic, 2.3-mile permanent road course. The Barracuda Racing No. 98 car had a fastest lap time of 1:08.0116 at a speed of 121.744, set in the fourth session.

Overall, Tagliani and his crew were happy with the results of the Open Test.

“It was good to get back in the Barracuda Racing car after three months,” said Tagliani. “I think we started where we left off last season. We’re very pleased with the two days of testing here at Barber. The guys worked hard. We tried a lot of things and learned a lot of things too. I’m very happy that we can have a good car here when we come back for the race.

“The Barracuda Racing car will be competitive and overall I’m very excited. There are little things to fine tune before the first race but if we can come back solid after this two-day test on a track where we didn’t run the complete race last year, that’s the only thing I can ask for. It’s going to be a good season for us.”

Lead engineer Todd Malloy added that Tagliani’s perception of the test was indicative of the results. He added, “We’re really pleased to be able to come and test here at Barber because we didn’t have many laps here last year. We’re glad to be back with the Honda family and managed to get through a lot of setup changes that we’ve wanted to try for a while.

“At the end of the day, Alex is really happy with the car. Normally, Alex is a pretty good gauge of where we’re at. If he’s happy, we’re pretty good. If he’s not, we’re not. And he’s happy.”

In just one week, the IZOD IndyCar Series will hit the streets of St. Petersburg, FL for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 24. The 110-lap competition will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network starting at 12 p.m. ET.