PKV complete 'successful' evaluation.

PKV Racing completed its third round of driver evaluations last week at Sebring with British sensation Katherine Legge joined by Renault's Formula One test driver Franck Montagny.

Legge, who was testing a Champ Car for the third time, and second with PKV Racing, ran over 450 miles including 260 on the second day when she did a full, 200-mile, race simulation. The talented and determined 25-year-old Brit, who earned three victories last year during her inaugural Atlantic season placing third overall, spend much of her testing time working on a number of race-related issues, including live pit stops.

"With Katherine, we worked on a lot of race-related exercises," said PKV Racing General Manager, Jim McGee. "Things like pit stops, simulated qualifying runs and a simulated 200 mile race were all part of her programme. It was a learning exercise and Katherine did a good job," McGee noted.

Legge, who previously tested at Sebring with Rocketsports Racing on December 13th and PKV Racing on December 20th-21st, said "It was an interesting two days of testing. I really have to thank PKV Racing and especially the crew. They were great to work with and I learned a lot. I've never had to do pit stops before and we did about 20 of them the first day. It's a little bit different. It was also very valuable to do the race simulation. I have been working out every day to build up my strength and stamina and the race simulation gave me a good feel for where I am in terms of conditioning. It's a learning process and I have to remember that every thing I do on days like this makes me a better driver."

Legge became the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America when she captured her debut Atlantic event in Long Beach. The win in Long Beach was named Southern California's top auto racing moment of the year in voting by fans. Her strong showing in the Atlantic's have also earned her a Formula One test for Minardi and an A1 Grand Prix test for Team Great Britain in November.

Montagny, who was Renault's Formula 1 test driver the last two seasons, made his debut in a Champ Car during the test and ran approximately 350 miles.

Commenting on the test, the 28-year-old Frenchmen, who competed against Champ Car stars Sebastien Bourdais and Justin Wilson in Europe said, "This is the first time I have driven a Champ Car and it was great. I got a good idea about the car and my times were on pace. The cars are not that different from F1 car, but actually they are more fun to drive and maybe even more demanding physically. It was really great testing a Champ Car and I really want to thank the team and crew. They did a good job. I think it was a productive test and I had a lot of fun."

McGee said, "Franck was very impressive and very professional. He has a lot of experience and it showed. Franck ran competitive lap times and considering it was his first time in a Champ Car we are very pleased with his performance."

Summing up the test and the off-season programme McGee said, "It was a good test. We accomplished everything we wanted during the two days. The drivers, mechanics and engineering staff did a great job. In fact, all of our preseason tests have been very productive. All the drivers we have brought in have been highly qualified and professional, the team has done a great job preparing the cars and we have accumulated a lot of date. Overall, we are very pleased with the results of our off-season programme to date."

This was the third driver evaluation of the off-season for PKV Racing, which is seeking anywhere from zero to two drivers for 2006. In addition to Legge and Montagny, the team tested Ryan Briscoe, Ryan Dalziel and Giorgio Pantano at Sebring and more driver evaluations are expected in the coming weeks before the team makes a final decision on our driver line-up for the 2006 season.