By no means was it a fully-fledged test, however. Power’s maiden drive was part of a tyre validation with Firestone to finalise the compounds for the Phoenix race in March.
Cold conditions greeted Power, who was joined on track by Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden.
“It’s funny. You feel very out of place once you get in the car and get rolling – then it’s just like ‘Oh, it’s an IndyCar’,” said Power.
“I’m going through the same processes. Very good first few runs. Now we’ve got plenty of work to do.
“Nice to feel the Honda engine. It’s very good. Definitely looking forward to getting in amongst a lot more cars and seeing where we stack up.”
The tyre test offered Power a low-stress opportunity to familiarise himself with his new team.
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The two-time series winner said he spent the day learning names and working closely with his new engineer Andy Listes.
“It’s just the typical stuff. You’re just trying to understand how everything works in this team,” said Power.
“I’ve been at one other team, Penske, for 17 years, so it was just like second nature; you didn’t think about anything.
“Here, you’ve got to get the steering wheel in the right position, the pedals and padding, and just basic things like that – but, all good.”
Power will return to Phoenix in March with “unfinished business” having led 80 laps of the 2018 race before crashing on Lap 153.
Still, it’s a happy hunting ground for Power, who finished third in 2016 and second in 2017.
“I’ve had a couple of chances to win and it hasn’t played out,” said Power.
“I do like this place. I like the area, the city. Yeah, it’s going to be fun.
“I think it’s good for us that we’re having an open test here because I feel like, just look at the results in the past, it’s somewhere where we need to improve, so we’ll get plenty of time.”
IndyCar will have an open test at Phoenix on February 17-18.
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