Mid-Ohio IndyCar: Newgarden leads O’Ward in opening practice
Josef Newgarden put Team Penske-Chevrolet on top in first practice for the NTT IndyCar Series’ 10th round, the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio SportsCar Course.
The two-time IndyCar champion was a quarter second ahead of Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet’s Pato O’Ward with an average speed of 120.870mph around the 2.258-mile course near Lexington, OH.
Barely eight-hundredths slower was Jack Harvey in the Meyer Shank Racing-Honda, the hometown team, with semi-teammate Alexander Rossi leading the Andretti Autosport-Honda contingent.
Local hero Graham Rahal was fifth fastest, although teammate Takuma Sato had an off in the penultimate turn which cost him some track time as he got the nose wings and suspension repaired.
Not surprisingly, Romain Grosjean shone again, clocking sixth fastest in the Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Honda, half a second from top spot, and ahead of the six-time Mid-Ohio winner Scott Dixon, of Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda.
Sebastien Bourdais put in a spectacular final lap for AJ Foyt Racing-Chevy which couldn’t quite eclipse his best effort that left him seventh but ahead of championship leader Alex Palou (Ganassi).
James Hinchcliffe, who has appeared to be struggling for form this year, made it into the top 10, just ahead of five-time Mid-Ohio pole-winner Will Power.
Making his comeback after his Detroit Race 1 shunt, Felix Rosenqvist caused a red flag with a spin in the second Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet, but eventually landed a time half a second off teammate O’Ward.
Colton Herta, who along with Power, scored a race win in Mid-Ohio’s double-header last year, had a huge moment after the blind crest leading through Thunder Valley, but survived it without brushing a wall, and finished the session in 14th.
Rinus VeeKay finished the session within a hundredth of Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevy teammate Conor Daly, as the Dutchman drove an IndyCar in anger for the first time since breaking his scapula when on a training ride.
Ryan Norman, a decent Indy Lights driver making his IndyCar debut for Dale Coyne Racing this weekend, did a thoroughly respectable job to end up 1.55sec from the ultimate pace, while Jimmie Johnson – who had never driven any type of car at Mid-Ohio – was 2.56sec off the pace, 2.1sec off fastest teammate Dixon.
Second practice begins at 9.05am local (Eastern) time Saturday morning.
Related video
Previous article
Zanardi's wife offers update on ex-F1 driver's recovery
Next article
Calderon lands IndyCar test chance with AJ Foyt Racing
The lasting legacy of a fallen Indy car rookie
Jeff Krosnoff was plucked out of obscurity to become a respected and highly popular professional in Japan, and then got his big break in CART Indy car for 1996. But a tragic accident at Toronto 25 years ago cut short a promising career and curtailed his regular teammate Mauro Martini's passion for racing.
The winners and losers in IndyCar 2021 – Mid-season review
At the halfway point in the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season, we've had seven winners in eight races, spread between five teams – none of them Team Penske. In this unusual season, even by IndyCar standards, who’s excelling and who’s dragging their heels? David Malsher-Lopez reports.
The joy that exposes F1’s key weakness
Long-awaited wins for ex-Formula 1 drivers Marcus Ericsson and Kevin Magnussen in IndyCar and IMSA last weekend gave F1 a reminder of what it is missing. But with the new rules aimed at levelling the playing field, there’s renewed optimism that more drivers can have a rewarding result when their day of days comes
Castroneves: How I kept it under control to make Indy 500 history
Helio Castroneves’ overwhelming vivaciousness outside the cockpit belies a hardcore racer who knows how to plot his moves – and then recall it all for us. A day after his fourth Indy 500 win, Helio explained his tactics to David Malsher-Lopez.
How 'chess master' Castroneves cemented his Indy legend status
Helio Castroneves joined AJ Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears with the most Indianapolis 500 wins after sweeping around the outside of Alex Palou on the penultimate lap in a thrilling climax. In one race, he validated Michael Shank's and Jim Meyer's faith in him, and Helio himself discovered there's life after Penske after all.
Indy 500 preview: Will experience or youth be victorious?
A quarter of the drivers racing in the 105th edition of the Indianapolis 500 are former winners - but are they the favourites? The veteran drivers largely impressed in qualifying - but there's also a plethora of young guns looking to secure victory at IndyCar's flagship race...
What will it take to get American drivers in Formula 1?
The FIA says it wants American drivers in Formula 1, but would it take an IndyCar driver to transfer or does an American need to join the European junior ladder system to get there? By David Malsher-Lopez.
Why IndyCar is satisfying Grosjean’s appetite for his second life
After spending the majority of his 179-race Formula 1 career in middling to tail-end machinery, Romain Grosjean finds himself once again with an underdog team in IndyCar. While not without its challenges, he's relishing the more level playing field that means his Dale Coyne Racing crew can expect to claim a few scalps...
