It was a solid opening day of practice as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES set up shop in Detroit for Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon in the No.9 PNC Bank Honda as he ended the day in second place with a time of F 01:03.1759s and speaking following the action the Iceman commented saying:
“Definitely a pretty wild track, a lot of fun, quite bumpy, but a lot of character. Definitely a tough session – short lap, short track, hard to get position, especially when you’re going from blacks to the alternate tires, but decent run – the car’s got some great speed in it. Finished up in P2, hopefully some room for improvement.”
Alex Palou in the No.10 RIdgeline Lubricants Honda ended the day in fourth place with a time of 01:03.6388s and speaking following the action he commented saying:
“Very challenging new track for everybody – it’s too bumpy, very narrow, but it’s the same for all the cars out there. It was quite fun once we got going and we were really busy trying the new limits. Big difference between tire compounds, which I think is good and is going to play a big difference in strategies. The No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants car is fast so good start so far.”
Marcus Ericsson in the No.8 Huski Chocolate Honda ended the day in 11th place with a time of 01:04.1082s and speaking following the action he commented saying:
“It was an interesting new track to try. It’s very bumpy out there. Took a while to get used to that and into the rhythym of everything. I thought it felt better at the end, I started to get the hang of it. It’s a new challenge so it’s really cool driving here in downtown Detroit. I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”
Marcus Armstrong in the No.11 The American Legion Honda ended the day in 14th place with a time of 01:04.3134a and speaking following the action he commented saying:
“It was good on blacks but really slippery at the beginning. I learnt the track and felt really comfortable after that. It’s a good car so I just need to stay on top of the track evolution. On reds, I didn’t really get a clear run. I think it’s going to be a diffclut tire to maximize. Ultimately, I thought it was a good start.”