ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — A rain-soaked session provided very little production for the NTT IndyCar Series drivers and teams Saturday morning in practice for Sunday’s XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.
Rain, heavy at times, soaked the track as 24 of the 27 drivers entered in the race took to the 14-turn, 4.014-mile Road America road course.
Colton Herta of Andretti Global was the fastest at 2:07.3027 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.
“It’s getting a little too sketchy and we learned what we wanted to learn,” Herta said after getting out of the car. “I have to give props to the track. This is a place that used to have rivers and ravines when it rained, and they have done a good job fixing that.
“The easiest way for me to do it is to push the brake zones where there is runoff, so it is safe,” Herta said. “We try that in Turn 5 and Turn 8 so I know what the limit is. After that, I do it by feel. We were able to get up to speed really fast.
“I feel good.”
Team Penske’s Will Power was second fastest at 2:09.2497 in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet. Rookie driver Christian Rasmussen was third at 2:09.5138 in the No. 20 Chevrolet with Christian Lundgaard of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing fourth at 2:10.9633. Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske rounded out the top five at 2:11.1215 in the XPEL Chevrolet.
“It was sick, it was awesome,” Mclaughlin said. “I love the rain. I haven’t driven an open wheeler much in the rain, but I always love to try it out.
“It’s risk versus reward. When I went off in Turn 3, I shouldn’t have done that. It’s a very different car to drive in the wet than a touring car.”
The session began at 10:10 a.m. local time and 12 minutes later, the red flag was out after Alex Palou’s No. 10 DHL Honda was off course in Turn 14.
“The track has quite a bit of grip and it’s more fun to drive,” Palou said. “Hopefully, it will be a little better.
“I’m 100 percent focused on this weekend and qualifying,” said Palou, who will compete in next weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. “The idea is to leave tomorrow night after the race to fly out of Chicago. It’s a busy week, but it’s going to be fun.”