Romain Grosjean and Jimmie Johnson have been unable to complete their ‘Rookie Orientation Program’ test session on Wednesday afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway due to heavy rain.
The ‘RoP’ requires any driver new to Indianapolis oval running to complete a specific amount of laps at increasing speeds over 200mph in order to prove they are capable of running at racing speeds without issue.
Despite continuous rain interruptions, both drivers had entered the final phase of the program which requires 15 laps at over 215mph, however, an intense shower ended running with Johnson needing a further 11 laps, while Grosjean is just two laps shy from completion.
Despite the stoppages, Grosjean got his first opportunity to work with his new team, Andretti Autosport, as he fills the void left by the incumbent Ryan Hunter-Reay in the No.28 DHL Honda.
The Frenchman had been initially reluctant to run superspeedways upon his IndyCar arrival after his fiery Formula 1 crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix, however, the temptation of competing in the Indianapolis 500 has been too hard to ignore.
After in-depth discussions with his family throughout the year, Grosjean is slated to run all 17 races in 2022.
Despite his oval prowess in NASCAR, Johnson had also been initially reluctant to take on oval competition, but has since begun investigating his options.
The 46-year-old recently tested at Texas Motor Speedway with guidance from Ganassi team-mates Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, and four-time champion turned driver coach Dario Franchitti, completing an estimated 200 laps.
Johnson has yet to make a final decision on competing in the Indy 500 due to wanting further discussions and time in the car.
Both drivers will be able to finish their respective programs in the Indy 500 open test on April 20-21.
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