GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH, PRACTICE REPORT – IndyCar

The 41st Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend kicked off today in the downtown Southern California city by the water. This morning’s practice session on the 1.986-mile temporary street circuit saw all three Andretti Autosport drivers in the top 12 with the past Long Beach race winner (2010) the top Honda in P3. Carlos was forced to pit for a new front wing during the afternoon session following an incident where he was pushed into the wall; the Colombian finished his day P17 overall. RHR and Marco finished their day in the top 10, ninth and 10th, respectively.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY
NO. 28 DHL HONDA

“We had a pretty good day going, we didn’t get a lap on our last new set of tires so hopefully we’ll be saving that for tomorrow. We’re making some strides, this is the position we were in last year after day one of practice.”

MARCO ANDRETTI
NO. 27 MERCHANT FIRST / SNAPPLE HONDA

“I think as a team we kind of attacked it a couple different ways. It’s interesting because we are within a hundredth of a second, so we’re not really sure which way to go. But I’m quite pleased with the car. Unfortunately there’s still a gap to the Chevys and that’s frustrating but we’re chipping away at it.”

CARLOS MUÑOZ
NO. 26 ANDRETTITV / CINSAY HONDA

“I think during the first session we were looking pretty good, the second one, we didn’t really feel that great. We are really close to one another – one–tenths (of a second) off from even top 10 or top five… Tomorrow we have to put everything together to at least be in the top 10 for qualifying.”