Friday’s IndyCar practice from Road America ended with Alexander Rossi on the top of the timesheets, completing a lap of the 4.05-mile course in 1:45.6027.
The session was 75 minutes long, as opposed to the normal 45 minutes in order to give teams and drivers extra time to work on their setups before qualifying.
Teams were also given an extra set of the softer, red walled tires so that different setups could be trialed early in the weekend.
Colton Herta was the second fastest of the day, completing his lap just over one tenth of a second slower than his team-mate.
Marcus Ericsson was third on the timesheets, followed by the series most recent winner Will Power in fourth.
There was only one stoppage in the extended session, which was caused by Helio Castroneves who spun his #06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda and became stuck in the grass.
His car was not damaged, however, and the only repercussion for the incident was a five-minute reduction in practice time according to series rules.
Callum Ilott was behind the wheel for the first time since the Indy 500, and was able to complete the 15th fastest time of the day with his freshly healed hand.
Simona De Silvestro was also on track, her first IndyCar experience aside from the Indy 500 since 2015, running her first race of the year for Paretta Autosport.
She ended the day in the 27th and final position, but was only slightly off the pace and will look to close that gap over the rest of the weekend.
The next time drivers will be on track will be for a standard-length practice session Saturday morning, followed by a knockout qualifying session that afternoon.
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