As I sit in West Palm Beach airport waiting for my return flight to Nazareth, Pa, I decided to update my blog on the test. I was way quicker than I was here (PBIR) last year. I was the quickest of each and every session over the two days of testing. Some sessions I was almost .9 quicker than the next closest car. Most impressive, was the fact that I could turn up 8 laps on new tires quicker before my tires dropped off to match my next closest competitors fast lap.

I am a totally different driver than I was at this point last season. The ability to manage my tires and still go quick has progressed immensely. The Andretti Autosport team of Poppy, Yancy and Fred, worked very hard with me and the #88 Comfort Revolution car. The weekend was without an incident. We put way too many laps on this track and cut things short a little early today.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @sagekaram88

I will soon depart for this weekend’s testing at Palm Beach International Raceway. This is the most testing that I have ever done prior to the start of a season. The team is very excited about my ability to win the Star Mazda Championship this season and everybody is totally committed to perfection. This test will be a two-day test run in conjunction with the USF2000′s Winter Series. The team has some new parts they are going to try on my car and I am excited to see what we can do. I feel that I have such a stronger grasp on the characteristics of car, than I did last year.

I have never been in this type of physical shape in my life! Between wrestling and my dad’s personal training, I believe my level fitness will enable me to drive hard the time. I look to add some swimming and cycling to my program once the warmer weather approaches.

The new ArtRotondo designed helmets will not have the new radios installed in time for this weekends test. I was hoping to get some action photos posted on my site, but I guess it will have to wait.

I am excited to hear about all of the Star Mazda series signings that are happening. The series is very strong and extremely competitive. I look forward to the challenges.

Sage

I just returned from a two-day test at Firebird Raceway, outside of Phoenix, Arizona. The test went extremely well and I turned fast laps consistently. Surprisingly, I turned my five fastest laps, consecutively all within a tenth of each other at the end of day two. I feel the Andretti Autosport’s crew ability to secure a solid setup and my physical conditioning contributed to this feat. My engineer, Yancy, was impressed with the consistent fast laps we were able to produce.

We learned some valuable new setup points and discovered some interesting tendencies of the Star Mazda chassis. We are already planning my next test for the #88 Comfort Revolution car and I can’t wait to turn laps again. I will return to the mat again today and pickup wrestling for the Nazareth High School wrestling team.

The Andretti Autosport Indy Lights car was on-site testing too. I can’t wait until the day comes that I can jump into that ride. Because of my age (16), I am not permitted to test in the Lights car. Hopefully, if this season goes well, I may get some FIL races in before the season ends. However, my focus remains on Star Mazda and winning this Road to Indy scholarship.

Sage