Power and Montoya delighted with NOLA Motorsports Park

Team Penske drivers Will Power and Juan Pablo Montoya say they are thoroughly impressed after running a two day test at the NOLA Motorsports Park which will host the Grand Prix of Louisiana in April.

The all-new track, which will debut on the IndyCar calendar this year, hosted a pre-season test with fourteen drivers from six teams getting to grips with the 2.67-mile track.

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya gave a glowing report on the new race track which will welcome the IndyCar paddock on the 10-12 April.

"This course is fun. I was amazed how the grip level on this place is really high," the team Penske driver said. "I think when we have the aero kits before we race, it's going to be, 'Wow!'"

The new aerodynamic kits, supplied by Chevrolet and Honda, will make their competitive debut in the season-opening St. Petersburg Grand Prix on 27-29 March. As the NOLA Motorsports Park is a new addition to the IndyCar series, the teams with have an additional test in Louisiana with the new packages two days before they go racing.

Montoya's Penske team-mate Will Power, who was crowned IndyCar champion in 2014, added: "It's got very tight grip. So it's fast, but doesn't look too scary. It's definitely my kind of track. There's going to be a lot of good racing."

Fellow IndyCar driver Graham Rahal said the track, which is situated just outside New Orleans, will be one of the quickest on the calendar and some of his colleagues are struggling to control the speed.

"It's going to be tough and competitive," Rahal said. "I was talking to a driver who said he was having a hard time holding his head up and that sums this place up. It's going to be even harder when we come back with heavy downforce and more aero with the new aero kit."

The Grand Prix of Louisiana will act as the second round of the 2015 IndyCar championship after the original season-opener in Brazil was cancelled last month, with organisers confirming it will not replaced.