Team Penske’s Will Power said he hopes that his Chevrolet powered car can take him to the title this year having built up a head of steam going into last year’s final IndyCar races.
Speaking at a Team Chevy pre-season media day Power – who took two victories in the final two races – said he had a mixed end of season: “That was an unusual finish to a season for me if you go off the last few years. Definitely had a good off-season and I am very motivated to have a good year.
“We’ve had a couple test days with the three cars and we actually found some pretty good stuff. I feel as though we’re going to be pretty competitive. We are kind of just working hard, not leaving anything on the table, not leaving anything to chance. You just can’t be lazy. You’ve got to work hard in this game if you want to continually be competitive, so that’s our plan.”
Power also spoke of his new team mate in the third Penske car this season – Juan Pablo Montoya – and the extra feedback they can get from a man as experienced as Montoya: “With Juan, he’s had some good experience and good ideas. He’s obviously been very successful in Formula One. Especially with his experience in NASCAR, it’s kind of good having him there, for sure. He’s a guy that I looked up to when I was racing Formula Ford and he was in Formula One so it’s kind of cool to be working with him.”
He added that Montoya has gelled with the team perfectly and has been giving both the Australian and team mate Helio Castroneves good advice on set up and engineering tweaks.
Power, who has finished second in the IndyCar Series three years in a row prior to 2013, has already picked out a potential one to watch for this season – former Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais: “He’s the quickest guy but it’s hard to know what they’re running, although I expect him to be a contender.
“It was weird last year he was so competitive in 2012 but this year he turned up, the tide changed a bit, he struggled, but then was there at the end of the year again. This guy is a four-time champion and KV is a very good team with the resources and the money behind him.”
To see how Power starts the season, fans don’t have to wait much longer as the season gets under way at St Petersburg on March 30th.
