MONTREAL -- You never get a second chance to make a good first impression, but so far, the 14-turn, 2.709-mile Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has impressed veterans and rookies alike.

It's definitely not a finesse track. As Boris Said put it, it's "point and shoot:" Go as hard down the straightaway as you dare, stomp on the brakes and point the front end at the corner and hope it sticks.

"It's not really a rhythm track, like Mexico, where half of it's a rhythm track, with all the esses," said Said, who was third in the first of two lengthy test sessions on Thursday. "Here is more of a 'point and shoot' kind of track, where you've got to be pretty aggressive.

"It's a great track, but it's just unforgiving with a lot of walls. You've just got to take your time, learn your braking points and learn your limits."

Open-wheel veteran Patrick Carpentier was the fastest of the 37 cars that made at least one lap during the morning session, turning a lap of 93.865 mph -- but he might have used a little home-field advantage. In two Montreal appearances with Champ Car, Carpentier was third in 2003 and fourth in 2004.

Still, driving a Busch Series car on this track gave him a unique perspective.

"What amazes me is the power, the acceleration for a car that heavy," Carpentier said. "You're coming down the straightaway down the back and it keeps going, it keeps accelerating. It reminds me of the Indy cars of that time, when we had a lot of power. I can only imagine a Nextel Cup car, which even has more power than this one."

When Terry Labonte tested a Busch Series car here earlier this summer, he stayed in second gear for much of the back side of the course, something Carpentier was suspicious about until he actually tried it himself.

"On the back there always used to be a fast corner," Carpentier said. "I thought, second gear, that's got to be at least third gear. I thought, 'He must not have been going very fast.'

"And I took it in third gear this morning, and I was pretty lucky to come back with the sides on the car. It just went straight, I missed the corner and went sideways and thought I was going to hit the wall. Since then, it's been second gear."

Ron Fellows said only a few minor changes have been made to the track since he last drove it in 1989.

"The surface is the same as I remember -- it's quite slick and not a lot of grip," said Fellows, one of six drivers to eclipse the 93 mph-barrier. "It's a bit tricky. Certainly, with these big cars, having to slow down as often as we do at high-speed, it's going to be a tough one on Saturday, trying to maintain some relative cool on the brakes." (Continued)