Wilson tops Indy Lights practice
“We had a few things we wanted to try, see how the car is reacting, and had some good times," said Wilson, who topped the time chart with a quick lap (of his 26) of 1 minute, 5.6385 seconds in the No. 5 Andretti Autosport car. “We found some good things to move forward.
Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | No. | Time | Diff | Gap |
| 1 | Stefan Wilson | Andretti Autosport | 5 | 01:05.6385 | –.—- | –.—- |
| 2 | Esteban Guerrieri | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 7 | 01:05.9064 | 0.2679 | 0.2679 |
| 3 | Josef Newgarden | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 11 | 01:06.2070 | 0.5685 | 0.3006 |
| 4 | Daniel Herrington | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 77 | 01:06.5076 | 0.8691 | 0.3006 |
| 5 | Peter Dempsey | Andretti Autosport | 26 | 01:06.6555 | 1.0170 | 0.1479 |
| 6 | David Ostella | Jensen MotorSport | 16 | 01:06.8208 | 1.1823 | 0.1653 |
| 7 | Gustavo Yacaman | Team Moore Racing | 2 | 01:06.9084 | 1.2699 | 0.0876 |
| 8 | Victor Carbone | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 3 | 01:07.1681 | 1.5296 | 0.2597 |
| 9 | Anders Krohn | Belardi Auto Racing | 9 | 01:07.2019 | 1.5634 | 0.0338 |
| 10 | Bruno Andrade | Bryan Herta Autosport | 29 | 01:07.2717 | 1.6332 | 0.0698 |
| 11 | Duarte Ferreira | Bryan Herta Autosport | 28 | 01:07.8051 | 2.1666 | 0.5334 |
| 12 | Jorge Goncalvez | Belardi Auto Racing | 4 | 01:07.8468 | 2.2083 | 0.0417 |
| 13 | Victor Garcia | Team Moore Racing | 22 | 01:08.1220 | 2.4835 | 0.2752 |
“Being P1 after the first practice is definitely a good sign that we’re in good shape to keep this performance over the rest of the weekend."
The 45-minute session was the only one of the busy track day for Firestone Indy Lights, with another 45-minute practice July 9 preceding qualifications for the July 10 race. Esteban Guerrieri in the No. 7 Lucas Oil/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car was second quick (1:05.9064) and series points leader Josef Newgarden (1:06.2070) was third in the No. 11 Copart/Big Score/Robo-Pong/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car.
QUOTES:
STEFAN WILSON (No. 5 Team Andretti Autosport, fastest in practice): "We just went out there to see how the car was reacting, and the car was good straight out of the box. The track can change from year to year, so you never know how it's going to be for the first practice. We had a few things nailed down that we wanted to try; some worked, some didn't. I think we found some things that will help us move forward in a good direction the rest of the weekend here in Toronto."
ESTEBAN GUERRIERI (No. 7 Lucas Oil/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, second): "For myself, it's very important to find the right way in the track because there are plenty of bumps, but yes it was fun." (About bouncing back from Iowa): "My approach is the same actually. I'm not changing my approach. Well, actually I do a little because I have to turn right, but apart from that it's all prettymuch the same way I've been doing it. It's been working so far, and it doen'st make me anymore upset of pumped up, I have been going to the same way approaching it and I try to get the best out of every situation, and that's it."
PETER DEMPSEY (No. 26 Team Andretti Autosport, fifth-fastest): "My first practice went as well as we had expected. It's great Stefan was quickest out there because it gives us some good stuff to work off of. I felt pretty comfortable with the car. Adapting to a new car, especially on a street course that's a little bumpy, is always a bit difficult. Overall we were pretty happy with practice. We aimed for a top five and that's where we finished."
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