IndyCar: Rossi leads Andretti 1-2 in opening practice at Road America

Alexander Rossi, after a strong performance last weekend in the Detroit GP, turned a lap of 1m45.6027s to lead IndyCar opening practice on the 4.0-mile Road Course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

Rossi usually runs good at this track, having led 54 of 55 laps in dominating fashion in 2019.

Rossi’s Andretti teammate Colton Herta was 2nd quick, 0.1334s behind Rossi.

Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson made it a Honda 1-2-3 in his #8 Ganassi Honda.

Last week’s winner in Detroit Will Power was the fastest Chevy in 4th while another Honda, that of Alex Palou rounded out the top-5 0.3113s behind.

“Yeah, it was good,” Rossi said of the first-day Road America practice. “It’s a bit weird to have (the use of) the Firestone (Firehawk) alternate tires on Day 1, so it will be interesting to see how that translates to practice and qualifying (Saturday). The track evolution will continue to get better every session of the weekend.

“Obviously, the car rolled off really strong, which is positive on these weekends where it’s so close you’ve got to start from a good point.”

“I love this place,” he said. “I think it’s one of the top five road courses in the world in my book. It’s got everything. It’s just a joy to drive around here.

“It’s a beautiful part of the world, the people are great, the fan turnout is awesome, the weather usually is pretty good, so all A-pluses in my book.”

Friday’s practice was slowed only once, for a spin of the No. 06 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing driver Helio Castroneves.

The two woman in the field, Tatiana Calderon and Simona de Silvestro brought up the back of the field, 26th and 27th respectively, though admittedly they are not in the best equipment.

Practice 1 Results