ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Friday’s practice session for Sunday’s Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America was a chance for the 27 drivers and crews to come to grips with the newly repaved 14-turn, 4.014-mile road course.
A fresh coating of asphalt has increased the grip level dramatically, as Alexander Rossi’s fastest lap was 3.1-seconds faster than last year’s pole speed.
Click here for the full results.
Rossi topped Friday’s speed chart at 1:41.779 for a speed of 141.978 miles per hour in the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren.
The track record is 1:39.866 (144.924 mph) set in the CART days on August 19, 2000.
Friday’s speeds were much faster than the current IndyCar Series have run since returning to Road America in 2016.
“With the new surface, there’s more grip,” Rossi said. “It’s every single corner quite honestly.”
Rossi believes there is more speed to gain in Saturday morning’s practice session that is scheduled for 10:55 Eastern Time. Qualifications are schedule for 1:55 p.m. ET culminating with the Firestone Fast Six.
“You never get all you want out of it because usually you’re limited on the amount of tires you have and everything,” Rossi said. “It was interesting for us, having tested here last week, to understand the difference in the tire that Firestone brought for this weekend because no one that tested here had the actual tire. Obviously trying the reds for the first time. So, it was an interesting session.
“There is definitely lots to digest overnight.”
David Malukas of Chicago was second fastest in the No. 18 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing at 1:41.8652 (141.858 mph).
“It was very good,” Malukas said. “We tested here, we found a couple things. At the end of the day, we were kind of like, Speed is still there, car feels very good. Our hopes were high coming into today.
“We went out and we definitely found something. I think we’re a little bit closer now and kind of can restart our season. The way I’m explaining it is we had a mid-season slumber, the car was sleeping, getting ready, now we’ve awakened and we’re ready for the second half.”
Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing was third at 1:41.9486 (141.742 mph) in the No. 10 American Legion Honda. He brings a 51-point lead over teammate Marcus Ericsson in the NTT IndyCar Series standings into this weekend.
Teammate Scott Dixon was fourth at 1:41.9544 (141.734 mph), in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing with Pato O’Ward rounding out the top five at 1:41.9778 (141.701 mph) in the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren.
The track surface will continue to improve on Saturday as more rubber is laid down on the grippier surface, and that should make the speeds continue to ride.
A track record could be within reach on Saturday.
“I think we as a group would be pretty disappointed, considering we tested here, if we didn’t roll off the truck pretty strong,” Rossi said. “I think it’s still early days.
“But, yes, certainly the potential is there. It wasn’t a very clean run or laps by me, so I think there’s certainly quite a bit more in it, which is a good sign.
“The tire differences because it’s a chunk slower than our pace in testing, so understanding the differences there and making any adjustments to the car to kind of combat that going into tomorrow.
“Obviously track evolution is going to continue being a thing, and other cars are going to keep improving, so you can’t stay still, you have to keep improving.”