Not-Yet May Showers Bring Practice to a Close
by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com
Showers fell on Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday (April 27th) as the Indy Pro Series Open Test fell victim to central Indiana's fickle springtime climate. At 3PM EDT the cars were off the track and into the garages for the second time in two hours; after a morning-long delay washed out the first three hours of scheduled practice.
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Ganassi Racing’s Chris Festa Takes Cover as Showers Close IPS Test. Photo: ShawnPayneIRL |
Wade Cunningham's best lap of thirteen was clocked at an impressive 47.2408 seconds (190.513 mph), a time good enough to win pole at either Freedom 100 race run at the venerable Brickyard previously. The qualifying lap record of 47.3349 seconds (190.135 mph) was set by Jaime Camara in 2005.
Ganassi Racing's Chris Festa was second quick in the rain-shortened session with a time of 47.5654 seconds (189.213 mph), with Super Aguri Panther Racing driver Hideki Mutoh third (47.6238 seconds, 189.981 mph).
The practice was sufficiently short that the Indy Racing League immediately announced that a rain make-up day would unfold here tomorrow (Saturday, April 28th) as the League's sister cars of the IndyCar Series take the track for practice and qualifications at the Kansas Speedway. The Indy Pro Series cars will take the track in Indianapolis at 10AM for a four-hour continuation of today's rained-out session.
Alex Lloyd saw limited track-time, putting in only nine laps to score the fourth-fastest time on Friday; followed by Apex Racing's Mike Pokehten and Matt Jaskol of Michael Crawford Motorsports. Returning driver Ryan Justice, cleared only Thursday to resume racing after suffering a concussion in the season-opening Homestead-Miami 100, ran strong to a 48.0714 second (187.222 mph) lap for seventh-quick, with Jaime Camara, Robbie Pecorari and Canadian karting champion Shane Jantzi (driving for Brian Stewart Racing) completing the top ten test participants.
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IMS Open Test Multimedia Slideshow. Click on Photo to Start. Produced by: AllanBrewer |
Bobby Wilson was the day's only casualty, suffering moderate damage to his car when he slammed into turn one during the concluding minutes of practice. Wilson was transported to Indianapolis' Methodist Hospital for precautionary x-rays at 3 PM. No medical update was immediately available as to his condition.
The day began as it ended: with showers that left a frustratingly damp track just wet enough to preclude either a quick drying or safe practice for the cars and drivers.
At 3PM showers were making their way eastward across the Indianapolis area, and clear weather appeared to be imminent. However, the dark skies and gusting winds from the southwest to twenty miles per hour were enough to hamstring officials and make the day a wrap approximately two hours shy of its scheduled conclusion.
Guthrie Racing's Tom Wieringa, a native of Chicago and resident of Colorado, summed up the day aptly with a shrug of the shoulders and a wry "What'chya' gonna' do?" resignation. In April in Indy, when the showers come, they always rule the day.
The sixth season of Indy Pro Series competition continues with the Freedom 100 on May 25th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast as part of ESPN2’s coverage of Carb Day at 4PM EDT on May 25th.
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