Indycar celebrated its traditional ‘Fast Friday’, the day before the qualifying session, which in this rare year of COVID-19 coincides with the third free practice sessions and where the turbo pressure is increased, with the respective increase in power and therefore showing the highest average speeds .
Record dating back to 1996
The increase in power was added to that already applied to counteract the effect of aeroscreen, resulting in having to go back almost 25 years to see something close to the 233,491 miles per hour Marco Andretti averaged in this session.
But beyond the high average speed, what ‘Fast Friday’ has brought has been nothing more than the increase in the difference between motorcyclists that was already predicted in previous days and that today has been more evident if possible. With traffic, even Chevrolet was able to put two vehicles in the top 15, but alone, the best positioned was Charlie Kimball, tenth, with the American motorcyclist taking the last positions.
Fernando Alonso is not saved from this debacle. The Asturian practically missed the first two hours of the session, at which point many of the best times were set. By the time the team had the car ready, damaged after the accident at the end of the second free practice session, Alonso had to do various checks. Although his times went from low to high, he finally had to settle for 25th position for the day, averaging 229,788 miles per hour.
Nor does it fare well in the simulation that the organization has carried out, selecting the four best laps, as it would be in qualifying, and in which Ryan Hunter-Reay, with 231,263 miles, was victorious, followed by Ericsson, Rahal, Dixon and Hichcliffe, going down to sixth place to find the first Chevrolet, Power’s. To find Fernando one would have to descend to the twenty-fifth position, remaining the consolation that it is only an extrapolation.
Palou, fast in traffic
Alex Palou once again stood out in traffic, being the sixth fastest of the day with a lap of 231,989 miles per hour on average, being the fastest among the rookies and being once again ahead of Santino Ferrucci, his partner in line. . Without traffic, the Spanish rider motoring for Honda falls to fourteenth position, showing a point for improvement.
The qualifying session will take place this Saturday, where after a short one-hour free practice session, the drivers will have seven hours to try to take the fastest possible four consecutive laps, with the first attempt being marked by the organization, and remaining the The rest of the attempts are to be made at the time that the teams deem appropriate, and the time-outs being used as one more free practice session.
