Honda Drivers Top Speed Chart in “Fast Friday” at Indianapolis
• Marco Andretti, Robert Wickens lead the way in final practice day before qualifying
• Honda drivers take four of top six practice speeds
• Field of 33 to be set on Saturday, pole position qualifying takes place Sunday
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 18, 2018) – “Fast Friday” once again lived up to its name today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the Honda duo of Marco Andretti and Robert Wickens claimed the top two positions on the speed chart in the final full day of practice prior to qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.
With turbocharger boost turned up to the higher, qualifying level permitted by series rules, Honda drivers claimed four of the six fastest speeds positions on the day, and six of the top 10. In a one-off appearance for the Scuderia Corsa/Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing effort, veteran Oriol Servia ended the day fourth, joining Andretti, Wickens and Ed Carpenter with laps above 230 miles per hour.
In an impressive return to Indianapolis after a bone-breaking crash in 2017, Sebastien Bourdais posted the sixth-fastest speed today, with Stefan Wilson ninth in his Andretti Autosport Honda. Wilson’s teammate, Alexander Rossi, rounded out the top ten with a best lap of 229.235 mph.
First-round and “Bump Day” qualifying on Saturday will determine the 33-car field from the 35 entries at the Speedway, as well as the nine pole finalists. Sunday’s “Pole Day” qualifying runs will set the starting order for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500, capped by a “Fast Nine” shootout to determine the coveted pole position.
Live ABC Network television coverage of qualifying action from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway starts at 4 p.m. EDT, both Saturday and Sunday.
Quotes:
Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport Honda) Fastest in “Fast Friday” practice: “We’ve been feeling good, actually, [the car is] pretty good in traffic, and in race trim. I don’t know how much better we can get it. I think [for qualifying] going earlier is going to be better. It’s always faster in the morning. Today [the track] kind of took a dip [in speeds] in the middle of the afternoon, for sure. Yeah, I think early draw [for qualifying] will be good. Got to nail it on the first [qualifying attempt], especially with — I think there’s weather tomorrow, so at best one [qualifying] attempt tomorrow. So I think we’re just going to have to play whatever hand we’re dealt and wring it out.”
Robert Wickens (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda) 2nd fastest: “Yeah, [the] first Fast Friday in my IndyCar career, it was interesting. It was pretty crazy at the beginning because everyone thought it was going to rain around lunch, and then it just didn’t, so the afternoon was very relaxed because we went through, I think, three sets of tires in the first hour, and we only kind of accounted for five [sets of tires] for the whole day. Everyone is working hard, and we have to make sure we find that little bit more than everyone else. Our goal is to make the Fast Nine [drivers who advance to pole qualifying].”