DETROIT – A 75-minute session to find their bearings on the Raceway at Belle Isle Park may not have seemed enough, but Verizon IndyCar Series teams had little trouble finding their rhythm in the opening practice for the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans.
No fewer than seven drivers posted laps this morning under the official track record set by Will Power in 2015 Firestone Fast Six qualifying. While practice times are unofficial, Power was again quickest today with a lap of 1 minute, 15.0197 seconds (112.770 mph) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet that was more than a full second better than his record from a year ago. Official records may only be set in qualifying or the race.
“I think the aero kits for this year is the reason why the cars are faster here," said Power, whose official lap record is 1:16.0941 (111.178 mph). "They give us more downforce in the corners. My car is good, pretty easy to drive. I think we’re there with the right setup. We’ll see what happens in qualifying today, but overall the car feels good.”
CLICK HERE: Chevrolet Dual in Detroit practice 1 results; Chevrolet Dual in Detroit Race 1 qualifying groups
Three-time Belle Isle race winner Helio Castroneves was second quick on the 2.35-mile temporary street circuit at 1:15.5797 (111.935 mph) in the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Scott Dixon, the 2012 race winner in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, was third at 1:15.7543 (111.677 mph).
Also bettering the track record were championship leader Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevy, 1:15.9028), James Hinchcliffe (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, 1:15.9408), Graham Rahal (No. 15 United Rentals Honda, 1:16.0294) and Sebastien Bourdais, winner of the second Dual in 2015 (No. 11 Team Hydroxycut - KVSH Racing Chevy, 1:16.0735).
It was a difficult session for the No. 7 SMP Racing Schmidt Peterson Honda of Mikhail Aleshin, who brought out two red flags in the session and was parked for the final 10 minutes of the sesson. The first incident was a spin at the exit of Turn 4. The second saw the Russian clip the tire barrier in Turn 7, sending debris across the racing surface. An additional red flag was thrown in the second half of the session for debris.
Verizon P1 Award knockout qualifying for Race 1 starts at 3:30 p.m. ET (available on RaceControl.IndyCar.com), culminating in the Firestone Fast Six to determine the pole winner. The first race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit will be Saturday and the second race Sunday. Both air at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.
|
Rank
|
Car
|
Driver Name
|
C/A/E/T
|
Time
|
Speed
|
Diff
|
Gap
|
Best Lap
|
Total Laps
|
|
1
|
12
|
Power, Will
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:15.0197
|
112.770
|
--.----
|
--.----
|
17
|
21
|
|
2
|
3
|
Castroneves, Helio
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:15.5797
|
111.935
|
0.5600
|
0.5600
|
15
|
21
|
|
3
|
9
|
Dixon, Scott
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:15.7543
|
111.677
|
0.7346
|
0.1746
|
15
|
23
|
|
4
|
22
|
Pagenaud, Simon
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:15.9028
|
111.458
|
0.8831
|
0.1485
|
13
|
19
|
|
5
|
5
|
Hinchcliffe, James
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:15.9408
|
111.403
|
0.9211
|
0.0380
|
17
|
25
|
|
6
|
15
|
Rahal, Graham
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:16.0294
|
111.273
|
1.0097
|
0.0886
|
13
|
18
|
|
7
|
11
|
Bourdais, Sebastien
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:16.0735
|
111.208
|
1.0538
|
0.0441
|
14
|
21
|
|
8
|
21
|
Newgarden, Josef
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:16.1343
|
111.119
|
1.1146
|
0.0608
|
12
|
17
|
|
9
|
27
|
Andretti, Marco
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:16.3246
|
110.842
|
1.3049
|
0.1903
|
22
|
23
|
|
10
|
26
|
Munoz, Carlos
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:16.3248
|
110.842
|
1.3051
|
0.0002
|
23
|
24
|
|
11
|
14
|
Sato, Takuma
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:16.3391
|
110.821
|
1.3194
|
0.0143
|
20
|
21
|
|
12
|
7
|
Aleshin, Mikhail
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:16.3725
|
110.773
|
1.3528
|
0.0334
|
17
|
20
|
|
13
|
2
|
Montoya, Juan Pablo
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:16.4587
|
110.648
|
1.4390
|
0.0862
|
13
|
20
|
|
14
|
83
|
Kimball, Charlie
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:16.7090
|
110.287
|
1.6893
|
0.2503
|
19
|
19
|
|
15
|
28
|
Hunter-Reay, Ryan
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:16.7150
|
110.278
|
1.6953
|
0.0060
|
10
|
20
|
|
16
|
18
|
Daly, Conor
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:16.8722
|
110.053
|
1.8525
|
0.1572
|
19
|
26
|
|
17
|
10
|
Kanaan, Tony
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:16.9541
|
109.936
|
1.9344
|
0.0819
|
14
|
20
|
|
18
|
41
|
Hawksworth, Jack
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:16.9868
|
109.889
|
1.9671
|
0.0327
|
16
|
18
|
|
19
|
98
|
Rossi, Alexander (R)
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:17.1425
|
109.667
|
2.1228
|
0.1557
|
27
|
27
|
|
20
|
19
|
Chaves, Gabby
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:17.4153
|
109.281
|
2.3956
|
0.2728
|
24
|
24
|
|
21
|
20
|
Pigot, Spencer (R)
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:17.8693
|
108.644
|
2.8496
|
0.4540
|
20
|
28
|
|
22
|
8
|
Chilton, Max (R)
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:17.9372
|
108.549
|
2.9175
|
0.0679
|
28
|
28
|
(R) Rookie
(C)hassis: D=Dallara | (A)erokit: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (E)ngine: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (T)ire: F=Firestone
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