The NTT IndyCar Series officially entered the hybrid era on Friday when the field took to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first practice session of the weekend.
There were a lot of interruptions, unfortunately, which meant there was not as much time as planned for drivers to test out the new hybrid systems.
In what time was available, Alex Palou set the fastest time of the day. He completed a lap of the course in 1:07.0650, which is in line with previous years of running at the track.
Alexander Rossi and Marcus Armstrong ran the second and third fastest times respectively, both nearly half a second behind the points leader on track.
In all there were only 55 minutes of time available, with rain further shortening the available time.
25 minutes into the session, Agustin Canapino brought out the first stoppage when his #78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy ground to a halt near Turn 3.
The engine had been smoking for over a lap, but the team opted to let him stay out until the motor gave up completely.
A lengthy 15-minute cleanup period was needed as the AMR safety crew was forced to lay down a whole stretch of kitty litter to clean up the oil left on the track.
Shortly after the field was given the green light to turn more laps, a light rain shower moved over the area.
Marcus Armstrong and Jack Harvey both slid off the course in the wet conditions, creating another short red flag period.
When the track was cleared, the rain had become heavy enough that no drivers went back out to explore the dangerous a track.
A few drivers did eventually make their way out, but they were not able to learn much from the damp conditions. With no more rain forecast the rest of the weekend, there was little incentive for the rest of the field to head out.
There were only 345 laps turned in total, with Toby Sowery’s 20 laps the most of any driver. The rookie turned a lot of laps early, which helped him get some valuable experience ahead of his debut race later in the weekend.
All in all, there was very little on-track fanfare surrounding the hybrid debut. The system appeared to work without issue for all of the 27 cars on track.
More will be known as the weekend goes along, however, as drivers and teams have a chance to get more creative in their approaches.
The second practice session scheduled for Saturday morning will be all the more important given the lack of running on Friday, with qualifying then set for a short time later in the afternoon.
