Sebastian Bourdais has ended a rain-hit ‘Fast Friday’ fastest for Dale Coyne Racing, as preparations ahead of qualifying for the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 intensified.
The fifth consecutive practice session of the week enabled the teams and drivers to begin thoroughly dialling their cars up ahead of the two days of qualifying, with each car receiving an extra turbocharger boost.
This naturally saw the speeds increase dramatically, with Bourdais producing a 233.116mph lap during the early stages of the session to end the day fastest overall.
Despite a frenetic start, a length delay due to rain plagued proceedings for three hours and 33 minutes as the storm swept across the 2.5-mile oval.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was P2 for Andretti Autosport, after initially rising to the top during a busy opening 15 minutes to the day which saw the likes of Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves and even Pippa Mann momentarily rise to the top.
Andretti Autosport enjoyed a very productive day, with Takuma Sato and Fernando Alonso ending proceedings third and fourth respectively in a session which was favourable to Honda-powered cars.
Alonso in particular was once again the focal point of the session, with the double Formula 1 world champion impressing many straight away by slotting into P2 during the early stages of the session with a lap completely unaided by a tow from a driver in front.
Shortly after that Alonso then stormed to the top of proceedings for a short while, before gradually falling down the order as the times began to improve.
Juan Pablo Montoya was P4 for Penske, ending the day as the only Chevrolet-powered driver in the top ten.
James Hinchcliffe was fifth, finishing just ahead of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team-mates Mikhail Aleshin and Jay Howard.
Rookie Ed Jones was impressive for Dale Coyne Racing, rounding out the top ten ahead of reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi.
Along with the lengthy rain delay there were a handful of cautions throughout the day, with one prior to the rainfall due to an engine issue for rookie Jack Harvey.
The British racer limped back to the pits with smoke ominously wafting from the rear of his car, greatly hindering what has already been a tough week for the former GP3 and IndyLights racer.
After the rain delay there were two caution periods due to heavy incidents, the first from Spencer Pigot who lost control of his car at Turn 2.
Shortly afterwards rookie Zach Veach over-corrected his car at Turn 1 and slammed into the wall, with his car sliding out of control down the track and making a second impact with the wall at Turn 2.
Both drivers were released from the infield medical centre and cleared to continue competing.
