Indy 500 – Daly picks up the pace on Fast Friday

“Fast Friday” in Indianapolis was an opportunity for drivers to benefit from extra turbo power which they will also benefit from during Indy 500 qualifying.

Conor Daly (Andretti Autosport) set the benchmark with a time of 38 ahead of his teammate Marco Andretti and Takuma Sato (RLL Racing). Spencer Pigot (Ed Carpenter Racing) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) completed the Top 8426.

“I think everyone is closer than expected, commented the American at the top of the test rankings. There are obviously some small differences, but the people at Honda are doing a magnificent job and I'm really happy with everyone working around me. We move forward step by step, one change at a time, trying to be as fast as possible. »

simon pagenaud (Team Penske) ranked 7th behind Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter Racing) while Sébastien Bourdais (Dale Coyne Racing) finished 15th.

“I have a love/hate relationship with the qualifications here, declared the 2016 champion. It’s a real challenge that must be met by being at the limit with the grip. Friday was already intense and we knew it. I am very satisfied with my car and I think we can fight for the first 9 places, but it will depend on the starting order. »

For his return to testing after his crash on Wednesday, Fernando Alonso (McLaren) finished 24th completing 77 laps.

“It was a positive day for us. We were able to test different settings on the car and learn a little about the track, explained the double champion of F1. Speeds climbed as the turbo increased, so it was more preparation for qualifying than the race. We still had a lot of new tires and we were able to complete the stints. I hope the information collected will be useful for qualifying. »

The session was marked by Kyle Kaiser's crash (Juncos Racing) now uncertain for the rest of the meeting due to damage to his car.

Qualifying will begin this Saturday with positions determined from 10th to 30th place, where drivers can make as many attempts as they wish. The session will continue this Sunday with the last positions played as well as the “Fast Nine Shootout” where the first three lines made up of three cars will be known.