INDIANAPOLIS - It's an interesting collection, this massive rookie class for the 92nd Indianapolis 500:

Two 30-something Champ Car veterans and a kid barely out of go-karts.

Two guys who won at Indy on the day before the 500, an oval-track record-setter and two South Americans who thought they were going road racing this season.

An Aussie hotshot. An American legacy. The next Japanese prodigy. And a 6-foot-3 Brit who once sold shares in himself to finance a ride in Formula One.

Brought together largely because of the hasty unification of IndyCar Series and Champ Car, these 12 stand to comprise the largest group of first-timers since 1997, the second post-split 500.

Only one of them is in the race so far, Hideki Mutoh, who took over one of the series' premier seats when he signed with Andretti Green to take over for reigning 500 and series champion Dario Franchitti.

The other 11 will have a chance Saturday, when qualifying resumes for the May 25 race.

"I dreamed of being in the Indy 500 for many years," said Oriol Servia, whose 2002 attempt to qualify was wrecked by a failed fuel pump.

"But in my dreams I was also on pole and won the race, so we have to go step by step."

Being a rookie at Indy is significantly different from any other first step a driver may take on his way up the career ladder. The sheer size of the 2 ½-mile oval and the amount of time spent on one race, though, make it unique.

"There's a lot of tricks you've got to learn here, more so than anywhere else, because of how fast we're going," said Justin Wilson, a title contender the past three years in Champ Car.

Wilson and teammate Graham Rahal, son of 1986 winner Bobby Rahal, may be the most familiar names among the newcomers. Fans of international road racing also will recognize Wilson and Enrique Bernoldi from Formula One and E.J. Viso from the stepladder series GP2.

Bernoldi, Viso and 19-year-old Mario Moraes all anticipated driving on road and street circuits again this year, but with unification, they quickly were thrust into a series where turning right is an option only six out of 17 race weekends.

They naturally have needed a little more time than drivers such as Will Power, Mario Dominguez and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who were in Champ Car when that series also raced on ovals.

"It's good to be a rookie, because you have a chance of winning something," Power said. "It'd be very tough to come here in the situation we're in and win the race. So you have a realistic goal of being the rookie of the year in the Indy 500."