Montoya feels “like a rookie” in IndyCar

After seven years spent in Nascar with Ganassi Racing, Juan-Pablo Montoya made a new turning point in his career by leaving for IndyCar with Team Penske even though he had already conquered the discipline by winning the title in 1999 (Championship then called CART) and winning at the Indianapolis 500 the following year. The former pilot of McLaren F1 Team is preparing with fervor for the start of the season which will take place on March 30 in St Petersburg. “I am my biggest rival at the moment. I feel like a rookie because I feel like I have to do a good job pushing myself. It's a good thing to have a driver as fast as Will (Power) in the team. Helio (Castroneves) has a lot of experience. I think adding my experience to their skills could be a nice addition. »

Juan-Pablo Montoya admits that he is having some difficulty regaining his level in car after spending so much time on the ovals of the Nascar Sprint Cup. The Colombian confirms that the approach in the two disciplines is far from similar. “The cars were very different in Nascar”, adds the driver of DW12 n°2. “There was a lot of movement. It's a discipline that is the opposite (of IndyCar) because the limits of the car are easy to reach. We spend our time driving hard. We cannot do the same thing in IndyCar or at least not to the same extent. I'm far from being at my maximum, that's the main concern. »

Juan-Pablo Montoya will face another Indy 500 winner in Jacques Villeneuve confirmed yesterday for the May 25 event by Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.