British IndyCar driver Jack Harvey says a broken steering column caused his crash on the first day of Indianapolis 500 practice.
Two-time Indy Lights runner-up Harvey is making his IndyCar and Indy 500 debut with Andretti and Michael Shank Racing this year.
He was driving in first practice for the 101st running of the Indy 500 when his car hit the Turn 2 barrier with two hours of the session remaining.
“We had a couple of issues yesterday,” he told MotorsportWeek.com. “One scary one [the crash], which the team has taken full responsibility for.
“We had the steering column come apart, which was pretty nerve-wracking.
“But the amount of people on my car trying to fix everything last night is a good sign that it is going to be as safe as it can be and ready to go today.”
It was a slow-speed impact with the wall and he felt no ill effects, adding: “I was only coming out of the pits so it happened at a relatively slow speed. But I don’t want anything like that to happen again, that’s for sure.”
Harvey’s first impressions of the car were positive and he quickly settled in. “I felt super comfortable, I was pretty happy with everything,” he explained.
“I was just looking forward to getting out and getting in a few more laps than we did, but we have time today and the rest of the week to make up for it. Hopefully today we have got rid of some of those teething problems to try again.”
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