Thursday 10th December 1992
Ayrton Senna tested a Penske Indy Car at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona. The three-time World Champion also had to get used to driving a car with a clutch pedal, a turbo engine and iron brakes, none of which were on the Formula One cars of that time. After 14 acquaintance laps on this small track, he brought the car in to put on softer springs and have the rear anti-roll bar disconnected. Senna did another 10-lap run on the same set of tires, and set a best time in 49.09 seconds. When he returned to the pits he said, ‘Thank you very much, I’ve learned what I need to know.’ Then he got out of the car and that was the end of his testing. It is believed that he just wanted to understand the difference between Indy cars and F1 cars, and nothing more.