From: Michael Powell 
 
DIXON ON THE PACE IN FIRST FORMULA ONE TEST
 
INDIANAPOLIS, Friday, March 26, 2004 # Reigning Indy Racing League(R)
IndyCar(R) Series champion Scott Dixon was less than one second off the leading
pace set by Jenson Button during his first Formula One test with the BMW
WilliamsF1 Team on March 26 at Le Castellet, France.
 
Dixon drove the Williams-BMW FW26 alongside team race driver Ralf Schumacher
and team test drivers Marc Gene and Antonio Pizzonia. Dixon turned 59 laps on
the Paul Ricard circuit with a best time of 1 minute, 11.753 seconds. That time
was good for fourth among the nine drivers testing today.
 
Lucky Strike BAR Honda standout Jenson Button led the test at 1:10.887.
Schumacher was second at 1:11.300, with BAR-Honda test driver Anthony Davidson
third at 1:11.623.
 
Among the drivers that Target Chip Ganassi Racing star Dixon outpaced were
West McLaren Mercedes test drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Alexander Wurz, and
Panasonic Toyota test driver Ricardo Zonta. All three are former F1 race
drivers.
 
#Although it#s a steep learning curve, I#ve had a really enjoyable day and, in
general, I#m pleased with how it went,# Dixon said. #Unfortunately, I had a
problem with the gearbox this morning, so my time in the car was limited.
 
#When the team fixed the problem, I was happy with how it went at the end. I
would have liked to have had a few more runs in the car as I think I could have
gone quicker, but I#m now looking forward to the next test in Barcelona.#
 
Dixon will test for three days with BMW WilliamsF1 Team starting April 7 at
Barcelona, Spain. He is testing for a 2005 race seat with Williams, including a
drive in the United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
 
Juan Pablo Montoya, the 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner who joined Williams-BMW
in 2001, has signed to drive for West McLaren-Mercedes in 2005. Ralf Schumacher
has yet to renew his Williams-BMW contract for next season.
 
***
 
USGP tickets: Tickets for the 2004 United States Grand Prix at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway on June 20 are on sale, and the IMS ticket office
encourages customers to place orders early to ensure the best possible
opportunity to acquire good seats.
 
Tickets can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com or by
calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the
Indianapolis area. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through
the ticket office.
 
___ Internet Rex 2.29
 


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