Will Power has ended practice one fastest for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at the Gateway Motorsports Park, as the IndyCar Series returns to the 1.25-mile oval for the first time since 2003.
With the track adorned with a new surface the teams and drivers were eager to begin their preparations for the weekend ahead, with only one practice session available before the all-important qualifying session.
Championship leader Josef Newgarden was second fastest in a session completely dominated by Penske and Chevrolet, with the outfit locking-out the top four positions.
Reigning champion Simon Pagenaud was P3, with the top four drivers all assuming the the top spot at some stage throughout the one-hour session.
Helio Castroneves was fourth fastest, with the Brazilian veteran posting the initial benchmark at the start of the session.
Castroneves is one of three drivers to have previously raced at the Gateway Motorsports Park, winning the last IndyCar event at the venue in 2003 for Penske.
Rookie Ed Jones was extremely competitive for Dale Coyne Racing, ending the session as the fastest Honda-powered driver in P5.
Alexander Rossi was sixth after a late improvement by the Andretti Herta Autosport racer, with Honda power clearly at a disadvantage in comparison to manufacturer rivals Chevrolet.
Conor Daly took full advantage of Chevrolet’s pace for A.J. Foyt Racing, spending the majority of the session towards the top of the classification and eventually ending proceedings in P7.
Takuma Sato was eighth after a relatively competitive start to the weekend, with the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner hunting for a repeat of his qualifying success last time out in Pocono.
Four-time champion Scott Dixon was P9 for Chip Ganassi Racing, ahead of 2012 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay who rounded out the top ten for Andretti Autosport.
Further down the order Sebastien Bourdais ended the session a respectable P15, with the Frenchman returning to the series for the first time after his horrific accident during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 back in May.
The session was interrupted by two caution periods, firstly due to a mistake by Max Chilton in the pit-lane.
The former Formula 1 racer exited his pit box and immediately lost control of his car, colliding with an INDYCAR official in the process.
Although the official was uninjured Chilton was struck with a monetary and held in his pit box for five minutes after the session returned to green flag conditions.
Shortly before the end of the session proceedings were once again halted due to a track inspection.
Discussion about this post