Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Toby Sowery set a 159.086mph average around Gateway Motorsports Park to top the pre-event Indy Lights test.
The 23-year-old Englishman, ran jointly by BN Racing and Team Pelfrey, was 0.469mph faster than his half-team-mate David Malukas over the one-day test at the Illinois circuit.
Championship leading Andretti Autosport driver Oliver Askew was fastest in the first two test sessions, but could not match the BN Racing duo in the third. He was sandwiched by Andretti team-mates Robert Megennis and Ryan Norman in fourth place in the overall classification.
Juncos Racing and Belardi Auto Racing both struggled, with Askew’s chief title rival Rinus VeeKay running 1.512mph off the pace in sixth for Juncos. With Aaron Telitz not present, Belardi only had one car to gather from, with Lucas Kohl going seventh fastest. VeeKay’s team-mate Dalton Kellett propped up the times.
Photo: INDYCAR
In the week before the test, both Askew and VeeKay made their official IndyCar test debuts with Chip Ganassi Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing respectively.
?I?ve been unusually calm this whole year, and it was the same the morning of the test,? said Askew.
?But I was so prepared going into this test; I did a lot of homework, talking to drivers who have driven both and watching hours of on-board footage from last year. At the test, I was surrounded by these legendary guys ? Scott Dixon, Chris Simmons, Mike Hull ? but I went into it like a regular test day, with no expectations aside from learning all I could.”
VeeKay had similar feedback from his first experience of the Dallara IR-18 Indycar racer.
?I went into the day treating it like any other test day,? he said. ?But at the morning meeting of all the drivers and safety crew, I was standing next to drivers like Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi. Instead of looking up to those guys, I was standing with them. And to work with Ed Carpenter and the No. 20 crew, I felt so blessed to have this chance.?
Test results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toby Sowery | BN Racing/Team Pelfrey | 159.086 |
| 2 | David Malukas | BN Racing | 158.617 |
| 3 | Robert Megennis | Andretti Autosport | 158.101 |
| 4 | Oliver Askew | Andretti Autosport | 157.947 |
| 5 | Ryan Norman | Andretti Autosport | 157.828 |
| 6 | Rinus VeeKay | Juncos Racing | 157.574 |
| 7 | Lucas Kohl | Belardi Auto Racing | 156.386 |
| 8 | Dalton Kellett | Juncos Racing | 155.207 |