Name Recognition

* By Dave Lewandowski
* indycar.com



Mario Moraes playfully smiles as he points to the blue-trimmed "Hello, My Name Is" tag stuck to the midsection of his firesuit.

"Jimmy's idea," the 20-year-old sophomore IndyCar Series driver notes, referencing KV Racing Technology co-owner Jimmy Vasser. "Good idea," he hastily adds.

In fact, every team member's first name was displayed on their breast pocket during the two-day Open Test at Homestead-Miami Speedway. There's a number of new faces and Moraes is in transition for the second consecutive year.

Click it: Moraes' bio, stats and more | Open test Timing & Scoring reports

"When you start working with a guy, you need to know his name," Moraes said. "You don't want to say, 'Hey, dude.' ''

Everyone at the first Open Test of the year took note of his name and car number. Driving the No. 5 KV Racing Technology entry, Moraes was fourth-quick the first day on the 1.5-mile oval (25.4389 seconds; 210.151 mph best lap of 119) and sixth overall (25.3842; 210.603) with a total of 265 laps. Though speed wasn't the primary objective, he nonetheless was pleased with the results.

""It was a very good start to the year," said Moraes, who is working with engineer David Faustino (Will Power's engineer last season). "It was impressive because we were not working to make speed but working more on the race setup on the KV Racing Technology - Votorantim car. I felt very comfortable with the team and it was fantastic to work with such an experienced group. From the engineering to the preparation of the car to the pit stops, I could not have asked for anything more. I learned a lot."

Moraes, who made the leap of competing in the British F3 Championship to the IndyCar Series, posted three top-10 finishes (high of seventh at Watkins Glen) with Dale Coyne Racing. Fellow Brazilian Bruno Junqueira was part mentor, coach and on-track rival, which aided and hastened the transition.

"We're working really hard to have a good year," Moraes said. "I have much more pressure this year, but more chance to get results. One helps the other. Last year I had pressure to show everyone I can do it. I had Bruno, who had a lot of experience, and now I have Jimmy so I'm trying to learn all I can. I think we have a car to win some races this year."

Vasser, whose open-wheel racing CV includes the 1996 CART championship, has a keen eye for talent and already was impressed with Moraes during the Open Test.

"He's still young and learning a lot, but we were impressed with him last year," said Vasser, who is hopeful that he and co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven will assemble to funding to add a second car to the grid starting with the 93rd Indianapolis 500. "When you can be on par with or quicker than Bruno Junqueira on a road course, that's saying something. And he was really getting racy on the last few ovals and he's still on a steep learning curve. He's doing a great job."