It’s time for the final double header of the 2024 IndyCar season, with the title fight now heading to Milwaukee for the first time in eight years.
A five minutes install lap session was followed by two 15 minutes practise sessions, with the grid split in two groups as they get used to the track especially focusing on getting rubber on the lower racing line, unlike the usual high line needed.
Palou features in the first group, alongside notable names such as Siegel and Kirkwood, as well as Herta, McLaughlin, Ferrucci, Armstrong, Dixon, Lundqvist and Simpson.
Their 15 minutes ran smoothly without crashes or major issues, leaving the track to Group B for their 15 minutes, ahead of the group 90 minutes long session.
In the second group Newgarden goes fastest in the 150mphs, ahead of the 15 minutes break. He’s the only driver to sign a lap in that speed range.
The two short low line sessions were followed by a full length practise session, which saw Palou, Ferrucci, Armstrong, Harvey and Malukas immediately faster, with the Ganassi driver signing a 155.441mph lap, over 6mph faster than the speed recorded by the 500 winner.
Herta took the top spot ten minutes into the session, replaced shortly after by Iowa race winner Scott McLaughlin who signed a 157.581s.
Dixon slots in P3 twenty minutes into the session, as the grid focuses on getting used to the layout new for the majority of the drivers. Palou, Newgarden, Kirkwood, O’Ward, Rossi, Poer and Malukas complete the top 10 after the first half hour of running.
It’s a smooth session so far, with the first yellow flag of the day issued with 58 minutes to go due to a track inspection. All the drivers returned to the pits for a quick break.
Ferrucci is the second driver to sign a lap in the 156mphs, getting ahead of Dixon, followed by Rossi shortly after. However, we’re still a long way from the best speed of 161mph clocked in by Will Power at the earlier tests.
Ganassi drivers are on the mend, with championship leader Alex Palou moving up to P3 and Armstrong in P4.
Newgarden bolts to P1 with a positive 158.762mph, for yet another Penske 1-2. It has been a very positive session for former Formula 2 driver Marcus Armstrong, definitely trying to impress in order to get his contract renewed for the upcoming season, as the Kiwi driver goes third faster in 157.146mph.
It’s a positive moment for Ganassi, with Scott Dixon moving up as well to P2 as the second driver today to sign a lap in the 158mph and Lundqvist moving up to P5.
A surprising name joining the provisional podium is Felix Rosenqvist, with the MSR driver signing a 157.6mph, but drivers are getting more and more used to the layout as minuets later O’Ward improves his speed by 0.1mph.
In the final 20 minutes of the session lap times and speeds struggled to improve due to the severe tyre degradation they showed.
With 7 minutes to go the first caution of the day was issued due to Christian Rasmussen hitting the wall at Turn 2 after running wide in the marbles. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver stopped on track, as practise ended earlier for him.
Session resumed with 1:33 minutes left on the clock, with some drivers like championship contenders Palou and Power remaining in the pits.
Josef Newgarden lead the only practise session of the weekend, ahead of Dixon and O’Ward. Rosenqvist and McLaughlin round off the top 5, with Armstrong, Lundqvist, Malukas, Palou and Herta in the top ten.
It was a quiet session, with only a late caution and a lot of behind the scenes work, at a lower speed compared to previous outings at the track as everyone focused on testing fuel mileage and the different tyre compounds.
