Brabham fast at official tests

MAZDASPEED Andretti Autosport driver Matthew Brabham successfully concluded the official Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires tests at the Mid Ohio road circuit and the oval at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.

After over a six week break in the schedule all the major teams were on hand for the official tests, and as he has been since the beginning of the season Matthew remained at the pointy end of the field. Although he ended up third fastest at Mid Ohio the team remains confident as Matthew did not get to run on new tires at the end of the day, because the session was red flagged early when another car stopped out on the circuit.

"I enjoy driving at Mid Ohio, so it was fun to get back there. The test went well and we were able to get through our program as the rain held off which was fortunate. We were on top of the time sheets most of the day, but we ran out of time to put new tires on at the end and were pipped for the fastest time. But we feel good about our chances when we go back for the race in August."

After attending the third annual Oval Clinic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Matthew was on the pace immediately when testing began at the Lucas Oil Raceway. The young third generation driver finished comfortably clear of the field and broke the track record with a time of 19.904 seconds.

"It was awesome to get back on the oval again; the Andretti Autosport team gave me a great car straight out of the box which really helped my confidence. We managed to try a lot of different combinations and feel we have a good handle on what we need when we go back for the race. This is the race I really want to win this year and to break the lap record was a really encouraging start."

The "Night before the 500" event held at the Lucas Oil Raceway is scheduled to run on Saturday night May 25th.