All month long, our racing guru David Scoggan is blogging LIVE from the track! Check back here regularly for a dose of Dave’s wit and whimsy.
The approach of a gnarly storm cell caused an early end to Thursday practice, with the track declared officially closed at 4:45. Big news of the day was a frightening crash by rookie Patricio O’Ward; at 12:17, his #31 Carlin Chevy performed a half-spin in turn two and impacted the outer barrier, then raised into the air as it slid backwards before settling to the ground, fortunately staying right-side-up. O’Ward was uninjured and will be out in a backup car tomorrow.
Ed Jones and his #63 ECR/Scuderia Corsa Chevy topped the chart with a 227.843 lap as warmer and muggier conditions seemed to cost teams some speed. The Hondas of Takuma Sato (226.699) and Zach Veach (226.070) filled out the top three, but the more informative laps were the top three No-Tow laps turned by Jones (224.9), his teammate Spencer Pigot (224.8), and Simon Pagenaud (224.8). Tomorrow the turbocharger boost is increased for qualifying purposes, so the endless trains of tows should be decreased to almost zero.
Team McLaren and Fernando Alonso did not return to practice today, so they are placing all their hopes on Friday’s session that again begins at 11:00 AM, conditions permitting.
