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“Refresher” Bourdais sets fastest speed in Indy 500 testing

Four-time Champ Car title winner Sebastien Bourdais had to complete the Rookie and Refresher practice session at Indy, but made the most of it to set a 224.427mph lap.

Watch: Opening day of Indy500 testing

The AJ Foyt Racing-Chevrolet driver, with the aid of a tow from two cars, lapped the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway 43 times, setting his best time of 40.1022sec, on Lap 33.

His best no-tow speed was only eighth in the 11-car Rookies & Refreshers session, but that was largely a result of there being not enough clear track, as the 80min session was interrupted by a yellow flag, hurrying everyone onto the track at golden hour.

“Pretty good refresher for the A.J. Foyt No. 14,” Bourdais said. “That ROKiT car was pretty good. It always feels a little different when you start at low speeds and the car’s never really settled, but we got through both phases and are ready to go tomorrow and start working properly. It’s all good.”

Sage Karam was an encouraging second fastest in the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Chevy, while third fastest was three-time Indy winner and four-time polesitter Helio Castroneves in the Meyer Shank Racing-Honda.

James Hinchcliffe, back with Andretti Autosport-Honda fulltime in 2021, was fourth, and the 2016 Indy polesitter will have been gratified to clock a 219.788mph lap without the aid of a tow. That put him top of the session for no-tows, and just 0.1mph off teammate Colton Herta’s top no-tow time from this morning.

Simona De Silvestro was never able to find a space to get a no-tow speed but the 2011 Rookie of the Year looked very comfortable as she reacclimated to IndyCars and the Brickyard after a six-year absence, ducking and diving through slower traffic, and setting seventh fastest time.

The Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Hondas of IMS rookies Pietro Fittipaldi and Cody Ware completed Stage 2 of ROP, with Fittipaldi turning 62 laps, more than anyone else.

Practice resumes at 9am ET tomorrow to help compensate for the time lost to rain today.

P

No

Name

FTime

Gap

FL

Laps

FSpeed

Engine

Tire

Team

1

14

Sebastien Bourdais

40.1022

0.000

33

43

224.427

Chevy

P

AJ Foyt Enterprises

2

24

Sage Karam

40.5317

0.4295

37

43

222.048

Chevy

P

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

3

06

Helio Castroneves

40.7061

0.1744

47

55

221.097

Honda

P

Meyer Shank Racing

4

29

James Hinchcliffe

40.9140

0.2079

34

43

219.974

Honda

P

Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport

5

18

Ed Jones

40.9813

0.0673

34

41

219.612

Honda

P

Dale Coyne Racing

6

86

Juan Pablo Montoya

41.0754

0.0941

29

45

219.109

Chevy

P

Arrow McLaren SP

7

16

Simona De Silvestro

41.1095

0.0341

44

51

218.927

Chevy

P

Paretta Autosport

8

4

Dalton Kellett

41.3136

0.2041

43

49

217.846

Chevy

P

AJ Foyt Enterprises

9

51

Pietro Fittipaldi

41.3964

0.0828

56

62

217.410

Honda

P

Dale Coyne Racing w/Rick Ware Racing

10

59

Max Chilton

41.4817

0.0853

30

47

216.963

Chevy

P

Carlin

11

52

Cody Ware

41.8846

0.4029

49

49

214.876

Honda

P

Dale Coyne Racing w/Rick Ware Racing

 

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