Will Power ended the final day of IndyCar testing at the Circuit of the Americas atop the timesheets with a 1:46.760, as his Penske team-mates also sent an ominous message as they all finished inside the top six.
After conditions failed to improve from Tuesday, track running was delayed by a further two hours, despite more time having been allotted due to the previous day’s delays.
Track conditions remained cool and damp for a while but drivers did eventually get out and try to build tyre temperature and clear the surface water to create a dry line.
Eventually Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud was first to take the plunge on slick tyres, taking several laps to gain speed, but once he topped the timesheets, the rest of the field soon followed and lap times began to tumble.
Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi – showing off a new fresh pink livery in association with AutoNation – finished up second fastest 0.23s shy of Power’s fastest time of the day.
Penske’s Scott McLaughlin took plenty of time to get further acquainted with the IndyCar after his test at Sebring. Despite plenty of spins and stalled engines, the Kiwi left a strong impression, ending the day third fastest after getting 62 laps on the board.
Reigning series champion Josef Newgarden finished up fourth-fastest; the Tennessee-born driver rarely ventured onto the track whilst it was wet early on but spent plenty of time racking up mileage once conditions improved.
Two-time race winner Colton Herta ended the day fifth on his first official outing as a Andretti Autosport driver, only clocking 43 laps, the lowest of the full-time drivers.
Pagenaud finished sixth ahead of Arrow McLaren SP’s Oliver Askew in seventh place who led a quiet, but consistent afternoon.
Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon was eighth while rookie Alex Palou took ninth.
Patricio O’Ward ended the day at the tail-end of the top 10 and spun off track in the closing stages of the session.
Marco Andretti suffered a driveshaft problem early on in session, but still managed to get 57 laps on the board by the end of the day, finishing 12th fastest.
There was talk of teams potentially staying on for another day, but this was ruled out, leaving teams with limited number of private days testing until the opening race in St.Petersburg, Florida on March 15.
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