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Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden topped a busy opening day of Indianapolis 500 practice where over 3000 laps were completed in anticipation of rain ruining the second and final day on Friday.
This traditional annual test is the official on-track start of the Indy 500 and gives teams chance to try new set-ups and parts, get their rookies up to speed and any other drivers who need refreshers adapted, and generally get drivers used to racing in traffic at over 230mph.
With heavy rain expected on Friday, IndyCar issued a new schedule on Wednesday to extend Thursday track running by an hour and 30 minutes, from 10am ET-6pm ET. There’s another six hours scheduled on Friday from 10am ET-4pm ET.
Schedule
Thursday
1000-1200 Veterans
1200-1400 Rookies/refreshers
1400-1830 All drivers
Friday
1000-1600 All drivers
The rain complicates another key aspect of this year’s event, as the teams have a number of new aero parts to trial for 2023, but with track time being threatened, it put greater emphasis on getting all of that work done today.
Apart from a very early caution for debris, the morning session went without a hitch as damper investigations and set-up experimentation didn’t stop the 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson from topping the charts for Ganassi.
The rookie orientation and refresher session featured two race winners among the ranks!
The rookies have to complete 10 laps at 205-210mph, 15 laps at 210-215mph and finally 15 laps at 215mph to be able to hit the track even for practice at the Indy 500. Completing these sessions in testing means practice is fully focused on race preparations, otherwise drivers have to do these refreshers or orientation during practice.
The non-rookies involved are drivers who have not done an oval race since the last Indy 500.
So 2020 polesitter Marco Andretti, 2013 winner Tony Kanaan and 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay – who have combined for over 9000 race laps at the Indy 500, had to satisfy the refresher criteria of completing phase two and three of the aforementioned lap running the rookies also do!
Katherine Legge (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) and Stefan Wilson (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) were also part of the refresher session.
Rookies
Agustin Canapino (Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet)
Benjamin Pedersen (AJ Foyt Chevrolet)
Sting Ray Robb (Dale Coyne Honda)
Refreshers
Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport Honda)
Tony Kanaan (Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)
Katharine Legge (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda)
Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dreyer & Reinbold Chevrolet)
Stefan Wilson (Dreyer & Reinbold Chevrolet)
Andretti set the fastest time before a caution for rain in the air with 28 minutes to go, with all the drivers having completed their relative sessions by then apart from Agustin Canapino, who completed two phases but not the third.
With only one lap to go, luckily IndyCar allowed him to do that lap when the track reopened.
The afternoon session was punctuated by strong wind. That meant teams and drivers had to weigh up the risks of running at 230mph+ with unpredictable gusts of wind, versus not running knowing rain is likely to halt Friday’s running.
Most drivers got out for significant running that amounted to around a quarter of a race distance, and then for the last hour multiple teams came out for – in some cases pre-arranged – pack running where a train of cars simulates what it’s like to race on the famed speedway.
Happy hour at @IMS.#INDYCAR // #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/lCsmraj9ZD
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 20, 2023
It didn’t take long for Penske’s Newgarden to dethrone long-time leader Scott Dixon with a 227.686mph lap inside the last hour, while Ed Carpenter’s Conor Daly left it until the last 10 minutes to leap up the order to second.
Daly also set the second highest number of laps with 119 for the afternoon, one shy of Ericsson.
Newgarden’s average speed on his best lap was slightly faster than the 227.187mph run with which Dixon topped day one last year, when Newgarden’s 229.519mph from day two (also rain-interrupted) was the fastest of the test overall.
The series’ latest race winner Kyle Kirkwood took the momentum from his Long Beach victory to jump inside the top four behind Newgarden, Daly and Dixon, the latter the fastest Honda for the Ganassi team.
Kirkwood had a very quiet morning session after the telemetry on his car wouldn’t work, meaning engine supplier Honda couldn’t see the data and Andretti Autosport couldn’t monitor things like tyre pressures to avoid dangerous incidents.
Takuma Sato – doing his first 500 for reigning winner Chip Ganassi Racing this year – was fifth ahead of Dreyer & Reinbold driver Wilson. His team-mate Ryan Hunter-Reay was 14th on his return to IndyCar.
Team Penske’s drivers have agreed to keep quiet on their form having been happy in this test in recent years before going on to struggle at the Indy 500.
Scott McLaughlin was 10th and Will Power was 13th for the team, with Newgarden out front.
While Dixon and Sato represented Ganassi higher up the standings, Alex Palou is the driver many watching are talking about such was his car’s apparent performance in traffic. He was eighth with Ericsson 18th for the team.
Pato O’Ward led Arrow McLaren’s charge behind Palou in ninth.
Of those struggling in the afternoon, Callum Ilott ran only 10 laps as his car appeared almost underivable early in the afternoon session. Reassessing it in the pits late on, it still didn’t appear right and crashing into Rinus VeeKay in the pits didn’t help.
Sorry @rinusveekay I was sent and told it was completely clear. Didn’t double check in my mirrors. 100% on us and unnecessary. https://t.co/Gruujgwte6
— Callum Ilott (@callum_ilott) April 20, 2023
Coming in the same week as him receiving death threats following the Long Beach IndyCar race, it’s the worst possible start for Ilott’s 500.
Legge also appeared to run out of fuel in the last minute of the session, an issue which also happened earlier in the day.
