A full day of running was put to good use by 33 NTT IndyCar Series drivers in Thursday’s Indy Open Test, led by Team Penske and Josef Newgarden.
While the last two hours were action-packed with drivers chasing each other with higher downforce on race day, Newgarden hit a top speed of 237.023mph entering Turn 3 and used that speed in draft to set the fastest lap in the No. 2 Chevy, but he also found speed on his own, posting the second fastest no-tow speed of the day at 220.648, which bodes well for the two-time IndyCar champion when the series returns in May.
In the closing minutes of the day, Conor Daly in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy (227.466 mph) shot up to P2, edging out Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who had held the spot for quite some time in the No. 9 Honda (226.788 km /H). Kyle Kirkwood maintained his impressive form of late with a lap that put the No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda in fourth place (226.727 mph) and CGR’s Takuma Sato completed the top finish in the No. 11 Honda (226.265 Miles per hour).
With Friday’s rain forecast, IndyCar adjusted Thursday’s schedule to start early and give veterans a two-hour session from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Reigning Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson led the field with a best lap of 224.330 mph in the No. 8 Chip Ganassi racing Honda.
In the next session, dedicated to novices and veterans in need of refresher runs, Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti led the nine-bottom group at 221.569 mph in the #98 Andretti Honda. Each member of the group passed their compulsory stages and all rookies were cleared to take part in the afternoon session.
It was the 2-6:30 p.m. window that got interesting as climbing temperatures hit 85 degrees and escalating winds fired 30-mph gusts from all angles. Overall, most teams used the final session to accumulate more of the newly available downforce and test its effects whilst driving in the pack, but with the thin air and high winds most drivers struggled to gauge the car’s behaviour under such unstable conditions.
“We started with last year’s race downforce and then added two of the options,” Dixon told RACER. “We have the run with everything on. It will be interesting to see where everyone ends up in the race and how much stuff people take on.”
After Penske-Ganassi-Andretti’s top five, the stars of the day were Stefan Wilson in sixth and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 14th, both making their debuts for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, the only Indy-only competitor at the test .
The only contact that took place was in the pit lane when Callum Ilott was released on the way by Rinus VeeKay; VeeKay hit the outside wall, but both drivers were unharmed. Ilott was given a five-minute hold penalty by the series.
Friday’s run is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting.
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