Palou keeps his advantage in second Indy GP practice

The second practice session ahead of Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis road course concluded like the first, as Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou set the standard with a lap of 1m10.4507s.

Compared to the morning session he led, Palou’s best lap in the No. 10 Honda was produced under darker skies, with rain was expected to arrive later in the day when qualifying gets underway. And like the morning session, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood was second-fastest in the No 27 Honda (1m10.5574s), but behind the two championship contenders, there was a surprise as 2024 Indy NXT champion Louis Foster surged to third in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda (1m10.7182s).

Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard was fourth with the No. 7 Chevy (1m10.7370s) by a tiny margin over Andretti’s Marcus Ericsson in the No. 28 Honda (1m10.7396s) and Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist in the No. 60 Honda (1m10.7857s).

Joining Foster in the department of pleasant surprises was teammate Mick Schumacher – returning to the IMS road course where he made his series debut in testing – who claimed seventh in the No. 47 RLL Honda (1m10.7904s), and Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Seigel, who ended the session in 10th with the No. 6 Chevy (1m10.9636s).

The opening 40-minute run where all 25 cars were on-track saw Palou head the field with a top lap of 1m10.4507s that stood for the remainder of the session. He was shadowed once more by Kirkwood (1m10.5574s) in second and Foster in third (1m10.7182s).

In the first of the 12-minute split-field outings, Schumacher (1m10.7904s) led Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward. In the second group, Lundgaard (1m10.7370s) led Palou and Alexander Rossi.

Multiple spins and offs were experienced throughout the session, but no damage was reported. Clutch issues were found in multiple Honda-powered cars, as Graham Rahal, Kyffin Simpson, and Kirkwood either left pit lane to seek repairs or opted to stop running prematurely before a suspected problem worsened.

Scott Dixon’s car was taken back to its garage for an investigation to be conducted with its Honda engine.

UP NEXT: Qualifying, 5pm ET

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