Mixed fortunes for Forsythe rookies.

Heading into the final round of the 2006 Champ Car World Series having been forced to adopt not only an all-new, but also a rookie line-up, Forsythe Racing's debutants David Martinez and Buddy Rice nonetheless acquitted themselves admirably during first qualifying around the Mexico City circuit.

With AJ Allmendinger having parted company with immediate effect following his NASCAR defection and Paul Tracy sidelined by a shoulder injury, Martinez and Rice went into the provisional session with modest expectations thanks to having limited testing in the Lola-Ford under their belts.

However, while Indy Racing veteran Rice struggled somewhat, his less experienced team-mate Martinez proved to be the surprise of the session when he managed the eighth fastest time, considerably faster than his team-mate Rice, not to mention Champ Car Atlantic rival Andreas Wirth, who interestingly races for Forsythe in the feeder series.

Indeed, Martinez, who was originally only slated to be gaining experience in a third car alongside Tracy and Rice, was thrilled to be able to impress on home ground, even if he hints that he was pushing to his limits.

"It was just an incredible day, I'm very happy! The Forsythe Team gave me a great car and I was just pushing a little more every lap, on my last qualifying lap I just decided to go all out and put in a flyer and it paid off.

"I wasn't really expecting to get into the top 10 until tomorrow so getting over that hurdle today is a great confidence boost. The competition out there is very tough, but I know that I'm still the one that has the most room for improvement so I'm very confident that tomorrow we'll be able to give Telmex and the Mexican fans another great result."

Rice meanwhile admits that he was struggling to get the most out of the red Bridgestone tyres on the way to 13th fastest, but insists he is developing a good rapport with the squad ahead of his Champ Car debut.

"Overall it was a good day, the car is getting faster and faster but unfortunately we ran out of time during qualifying and weren't able to get the most out of the red tires. There is a very fine line for the tyres; you have to be able to put in a flyer as soon as they are at their peak because after that they fall off quite a bit.

"But we know there's a lot more speed in the car and I'm really gelling with the team so tomorrow we should be able to get a much better result. It just feels great to be back in a race car and I'm really enjoying my time with the Forsythe Team."