The NTT IndyCar Series held the first of two planned open test days at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, allowing drivers and teams to prepare for the upcoming Indy 500.
Poor weather was in the forecast, so series officials adjusted the schedule earlier in the day in an attempt to allow drivers to get in as much running as possible.
The opening two-hour session began just after 9:00 AM local time, and allowed those that have recent speedway experience to complete laps around the 2.5-mile oval.
Scott McLaughlin was the first to set a lap at speed as soon as the green flag waved, and he was quickly followed by 27 of his competitors.
The reigning Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden ended the morning run with the fastest time, completing a lap in 39.3338 seconds at an average speed of 228.811 MPH.
Setting the second fastest time was Kyle Larson, with the NASCAR champion adapting impressively well to the added speed ahead of his Indy 500 / Coke 600 double attempt next month.
Scott Dixon and Alex Palou set the third and fourth fastest times respectively, with McLaughlin rounding out the top five.
Callum Ilott was on track again during the opening session despite not having an official ride in IndyCar this year, as he continued to sub for an injured David Malukas.
Ilott piloted the #6 Arrow McLaren Chevy around the speedway for only seven laps, however, while the team worked on different areas of the car’s setup.
There was a wide disparity of laps completed across the field in the morning session, with Palou just cracking the 50 lap mark, while Christian Lundgaard only completed six laps in the short time available.
After the initial runs from the veterans, the rookies and drivers that needed a refresher course were allowed on track to slowly build up speed and confidence.
Marco Andretti, Katherine Legge, Pietro Fittipaldi, Christian Rasmussen, Nolan Siegel, and Kyffin Simpson had the track to themselves as sprinkles of rain threatened to put a halt to their runs.
They each were able to complete a prescribed program of laps at increasing speeds, finishing the required total just minutes before the forecast rain moved in.
The five and a half hours of track time scheduled for the afternoon, which would have allowed all competitors to run at the same time and gather valuable data, was called off for good after just eight minutes.
After being forced to pack away their cars earlier than planned, teams were further disappointed when they looked at the weather forecast.
Thursday is predicted to feature consistent rain all day in Indianapolis, meaning a washout of the second day of the test session is likely.
It is unknown at this time if IndyCar will make Friday available as a make-up test day, or if teams will have to wait until the official practice sessions in May to continue preparing for the Indy 500.
