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Practice report

Indy 500: Carpenter leads Castroneves in opening practice

Three-time Indy 500 polesitter Ed Carpenter topped the first official practice for the 103rd running of the event, heading Team Penske’s three-time race winner, Helio Castroneves.

Ed Carpenter

Ed Carpenter

The session was for all veterans, rookies and refreshers who took part in the April 24 test, ahead of the final batch of rookie and refreshers who have just taken to the track now.

Carpenter in his Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet clocked a 228.653mph lap of the 2.5-mile Speedway in the course of his 47 laps, edging Castroneves on 228.441.

Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s rookie Colton Herta, who won the Freedom 100 Indy Lights race here last year, was fastest Honda ahead of Sebastien Bourdais in the Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan-Honda.

Spencer Pigot and Ed Jones ensured three Ed Carpenter Racing cars in the top eight, split by 2017 Indy winner Takuma Sato in the fastest of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entries.

Scott Dixon, 2008 winner, was ninth in the Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda ahead of the fastest Andretti Autosport car, that of Marco Andretti whose machine pays homage to his grandfather Mario’s STP-sponsored 1969 winner in dayglo orange.

James Hinchcliffe, the 2016 polesitter, drove all four Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entries – his own and those of Marcus Ericsson, Jack Harvey (Meyer Shank Racing) and Oriol Servia (Team Stange Racing) – and set his best speed in Ericsson’s car.

Of the Indy-only teams, 2011 runner-up JR Hildebrand was fastest in the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Chevrolet in 13th.

Fernando Alonso turned 49 laps in the McLaren-Chevrolet, easily finished off his Refresher course and set a 224mph lap.

Session results:

Pos. No. DRIVER TEAM ENGINE FASTEST SPEED TOTAL LAPS
1 20 Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy 228.653 47
2 3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske Chevy 228.441 8
3 88 Colton Herta Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda 228.284 25
4 18 Sebastien Bourdais Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 228.242 50
5 21 Spencer Pigot Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy 227.661 53
6 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 227.642 29
7 30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 227.249 26
8 63 Ed Jones Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy 227.204 43
9 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Honda 226.892 10
10 98 Marco Andretti Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Honda 226.461 25
11 26 Zach Veach Andretti Autosport Honda 225.786 39
12 7 James Hinchcliffe Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 225.498 5
13 48 JR Hildebrand Dreyer and Reinbold Racing Chevy 225.405 28
14 5 James Hinchcliffe Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 225.235 15
15 25 Conor Daly Andretti Autosport Honda 225.158 42
16 14 Tony Kanaan AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevy 224.930 16
17 77 James Hinchcliffe Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 224.793 6
18 2 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevy 224.404 20
19 22 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevy 224.247 23
20 66 Fernando Alonso McLaren Racing Chevy 224.162 49
21 19 Santino Ferrucci Dale Coyne Racing Honda 223.971 35
22 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 223.950 28
23 60 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing with Arrow SPM Honda 223.509 31
24 23 Charlie Kimball Carlin Chevy 223.404 33
25 12 Will Power Team Penske Chevy 223.186 26
26 27 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 223.166 32
27 59 Max Chilton Carlin Chevy 223.140 33
28 10 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Honda 222.212 30
29 4 Matheus Leist AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevy 222.085 27
30 7 Marcus Ericsson Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 221.103 35
31 77 Oriol Servia Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 220.747 12
32 60 James Hinchcliffe Meyer Shank Racing with Arrow SPM Honda 220.503 5

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