Indy 500 – Ed Jones fastest in FP3

Ed Jones (Ed Carpenter Racing) set the benchmark time on the third day of testing at the Indy 500, with the American race of the year scheduled for May 26. With a lap completed in 39''5008, more than 3 tenths of the performance of Will Power (Team Penske) signed on the first day of testing, the Emirati preceded Takuma Sato, Zach Veach, as well as Sébastien Bourdais (Dale Coyne Racing) who finished 3 tenths behind.

“I will now have the objective of being the fastest overall, said Ed Jones. JI think we have made good progress on the behavior of the car. We were able to keep the pace despite the changing conditions. We will have to continue like this until the qualifications. The grip level should drop with rain. »

simon pagenaud (Team Penske) placed 10th behind Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing). Championship leader Josef Newgarden (Team Penske) finished further back in 21st.

“We had another good day, it’s positive, commented the 2016 champion. We did some practice for qualifying and we saw that the car performed well. The fourth day will be dedicated to preparing for qualifying, but race pace and consistency will also be important. We will try to win a little more, but I am satisfied now with my program. »

Fernando Alonso (McLaren) did not participate in EL3 after his crash the day before, to car not yet rebuilt.

The tests were shortened by an hour and a half out of the seven scheduled due to rainy weather which ended the session prematurely.