IndyCar Indy RC: Rahal sets fastest time in first practice

Rahal lapped the 14-turn, 2.439-mile IMS road course in 1m09.8421s in the 90-minute session for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Given IndyCar already raced on the circuit layout in May, track activity was sparse to begin with apart from rookies, who are allowed an extra set of primary tyres.

May’s polesitter Christian Lundgaard led the way for the Rahal team after 30 minutes with a lap of 1m10.4945s, two tenths ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing’s rookie Marcus Armstrong.

Last year’s winner here Alexander Rossi (Arrow McLaren) and series dominator Alex Palou (Ganassi) took turns at the top, both dipping into the 1m10.3s bracket – Palou producing 1m10.3003s, which stood as the quickest time set on the primary tyres.

The red flag flew with 43 minutes to go when Pato O’Ward (McLaren) spun exiting Turn 13 and slid across the grass and stalled his engine.

McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist was the first to set an alternate-tyred time, a 1m09.9267s, with 20 minutes remaining. That stayed top for a good while, until Graham Rahal produced 1m09.8421s with nine minutes to go.

Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Chevrolet

Photo by: Geoffrey M. Miller / Motorsport Images

Many teams appeared keener on running their alternates long – which are a harder compound this weekend than they were in May – rather than attempting pure qualifying simulations, which probably skewed the pecking order.

“I think the reds have thrown people for a loop, there’s a lot more understeer than before,” said Rahal. “I feel strong.”

Rosenqvist stayed in second, ahead of Lundgaard, Rossi, Palou, the lead Team Penske car of Scott McLaughlin, Scott Dixon (Ganassi), O’Ward, Marcus Ericsson (Ganassi) and Devlin De Francesco (Andretti Autosport).

Toronto’s debutant star Linus Lundqvist lost track time due to an engine problem with his Honda-powered Meyer Shank Racing car. Once rectified, he set the seventh-quickest primary tyre time but fell to 13^th on alternates.

Title contender Josef Newgarden could only manage 24^th in this session, and admitted it was “not a good practice”.

In IndyCar parish notices, there will be six-place starting grid penalties tomorrow for Helio Castroneves (MSR), David Malukas (Dale Coyne Racing) and Jack Harvey (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) for unapproved engine changes.

Qualifying starts at 12:30pm ET, with a final practice scheduled for 4:00pm ET.

IndyCar Indy RC - Free Practice 1 results

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info

     

Driver Info			Main Information
Cla	Driver	#	Laps	Time	Interval	Mph
1	G. Rahal Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	15	23	1'09.8421		125.718
2	F. Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren	6	23	+0.0846	0.0846	125.566
3	C. Lundgaard Christian Lundgaard Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	45	28	+0.2825	0.1979	125.211
4	A. Rossi Alexander Rossi Arrow McLaren	7	21	+0.2912	0.0087	125.196
5	A. Palou Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing	10	21	+0.3544	0.0632	125.083
6	S. McLaughlin Scott McLaughlin Team Penske	3	25	+0.4061	0.0517	124.991
7	S. Dixon Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing	9	22	+0.4277	0.0216	124.953
8	P. O'Ward Patricio O'Ward Arrow McLaren	5	14	+0.4799	0.0522	124.860
9	M. Ericsson Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing	8	16	+0.4833	0.0034	124.854
10	D. DeFrancesco Devlin DeFrancesco Andretti Autosport	29	22	+0.5043	0.0210	124.817
11	M. Armstrong Marcus Armstrong Chip Ganassi Racing	11	26	+0.5065	0.0022	124.813
12	J. Harvey Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	30	29	+0.5123	0.0058	124.802
13	L. Lundqvist Linus Lundqvist Meyer Shank Racing	60	32	+0.5453	0.0330	124.744
14	K. Kirkwood Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Autosport	27	20	+0.5604	0.0151	124.717
15	H. Castroneves Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing	06	23	+0.5639	0.0035	124.711
16	D. Malukas David Malukas Dale Coyne Racing	18	24	+0.6088	0.0449	124.631
17	R. Grosjean Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport	28	21	+0.6360	0.0272	124.583
18	S. Ferrucci Santino Ferrucci A.J. Foyt Enterprises	14	26	+0.6424	0.0064	124.572
19	C. Ilott Callum Ilott Juncos Hollinger Racing	77	17	+0.6439	0.0015	124.569
20	W. Power Will Power Team Penske	12	26	+0.7092	0.0653	124.454
21	R. van Kalmthout Rinus van Kalmthout Ed Carpenter Racing	21	24	+0.7479	0.0387	124.386
22	C. Herta Colton Herta Andretti Autosport	26	22	+0.7968	0.0489	124.300
23	R. Hunter-Reay Ryan Hunter-Reay Ed Carpenter Racing	20	23	+0.8007	0.0039	124.293
24	J. Newgarden Josef Newgarden Team Penske	2	23	+0.9837	0.1830	123.972
25	A. Canapino Agustin Canapino Juncos Hollinger Racing	78	26	+1.1283	0.1446	123.719
26	R. Robb Ray Robb Dale Coyne Racing	51	31	+1.3890	0.2607	123.266
27	B. Pedersen Benjamin Pedersen A.J. Foyt Enterprises	55	32	+1.5392	0.1502	123.007
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