James Hinchcliffe has been struck with a recurring electrical fault, as preparations continue for the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 at the iconic 2.5-mile oval.
Towards the end of the opening practice session Hinchcliffe was initially plagued by the electrical fault, which forced him to return to the pits and prematurely conclude his running, preventing him from completing vital group running with team-mates Mikhail Aleshin and Jay Howard.
Between first and second practice Hinchcliffe’s mechanics worked on the car to rectify the issue, however during his first lap in second practice Hinchcliffe was forced to slow and limp back to the pits with the issue still plaguing his #5 machine.
“I have to admit we had some electrical problems at the end of the day yesterday that stopped us from our group run,” explained Hinchcliffe to IndyCar.com during second practice.
“Unfortunately on our first run today they snuck back in, so gremlins on the car and we’re going to go and change out everything electronic that we haven’t changed out yet and hopefully that fixes the problem.”
Despite the ongoing electrical issues Hinchcliffe is remaining confident ahead of Indianapolis 500, a race in which the 30-year-old Canadian racer has experienced both extreme highs and lows.
Last season Hinchcliffe stormed to pole position at The Brickyard, eventually finishing the race P7.
The year before the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports racer was involved in a life-threatening incident during practice, when he made contact with the barrier and a piece of the suspension penetrated his right leg and upper left thigh.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence obviously coming into the month of May after last year,” continued Hinchcliffe.
“The technical regulations are pretty similar so not a whole lot should’ve changed but you know what it’s like in the IndyCar Series, it’s so competitive.
“Everybody would’ve been pushing hard over the winter and we’ll just have to see where we shake out.”
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