Early Saturday morning, the NTT IndyCar Series finally tackled the brand new street course in Markham, Canada.
Plans were for drivers to get their first look at the track on Friday, but track build delays pushed all running to Saturday until the barriers could be installed and certified.
Kyle Kirkwood was the first driver to dip down below the 66-second mark, and sat on top of the timesheets for a time.
Speeds continued to ramp up as driver confidence rose and rubber built into the tarmac, and soon times were over a full second quicker yet.
The fastest driver at the end of the 90-minute session was Alex Palou, who found the most grip in the opening run and completed a lap in 1:14.9915.
Rookie Caio Collet was second quick with an impressive lap that was completed just a few hundredths of a second slower that Palou.
Third quick was Louis Foster, followed by Scott McLaughlin and Will Power to round out the top five.
There was a wide range of times as some drivers struggled to find a good setup in their cars.
David Malukas had trouble getting temperature into his tires, but still was able to set a good time on the harder compound.
Josef Newgarden, however, struggled during the whole session and was the slowest driver of the morning. His best lap was over two seconds slower than those at the front.
Tip toeing around the course
Drivers took their first few laps a little slowly as they felt out the new track.
The entire circuit has been repaved with fresh asphalt, which was done after track scans for the team’s simulators, so it took a bit of time to be able to push the limits safely.
Marcus Ericsson was the first to spin, with his Andretti Global machine drifting lazily off-line on the slick surface and stopping just before touching the wall.
A red flag was thrown quickly because he was sitting in the racing line in Turn 4, but the session resumed quickly once he drove off under his own power.
Kyffin Simpson brought out the next red flag when he smacked the wall with his left rear in Turn 6.
The impact broke his toe link and also shifted the concrete barriers due to the impact. Suspected gearbox damage meant he climbed from the car with only 11 laps complete.
A couple other drivers spun into the runoff areas and others still brushed against the concrete barriers, but largely escaped without any consequences.
A couple hour break awaits teams to allow them to make changes, with a second practice coming up at 2:30 PM eastern time.
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