Rosenqvist Leads Honda Field in Toronto Practice

Rosenqvist Leads Honda Field in Toronto Practice Sessions

  • Rookie Felix Rosenqvist posts second-fastest time in opening-day practice
  • Scott Dixon leads morning session, ends day fifth overall
  • Sebastien Bourdais, Graham Rahal also record top-six times

TORONTO, Ont., Canada (July 12, 2019) – A two-time Indy Lights winner on the Exhibition Place temporary street circuit, Felix Rosenqvist led the way for Honda today in practice for Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto.  The NTT IndyCar Series rookie posted the third-quickest time in the morning session, which was led by his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon, and was second-fastest in the quicker afternoon practice, less than a tenth of a second off the fast time set by Simon Pagenaud.

Rosenqvist was one of four Honda drivers to finish in the top six around the bumpy, challenging 1.786-mile Toronto street circuit.  Sebastien Bourdais ended the day third overall in his Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda, with Dixon fifth after pacing the morning practice.  Graham Rahal rounded out the top six in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.

Alexander Rossi ran fourth in the morning session, but twice made contact with the wall and ended the day 14th overall.  Hometown favorite James Hinchcliffe was 11th quickest, as less than a second covered the first 15 cars in a tight opening-day field.  

Activities continue Saturday in Toronto with final practice and qualifying for Sunday’s 85-lap race. The 11th round of the 2019 season begin at 3 p.m. EDT Sunday, with live television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.

Felix Rosenqvist (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) second-fastest in Friday practice at the Honda Indy Toronto: “I think the team brought a great setup and a great car here to Toronto. We won here in Indy Lights, and so I’ve always loved this layout. We had a really strong start in Practice 1 [running third], and the car was even better in Practice 2. It’s always great having a teammate like Scott [Dixon], because there is such a wealth of knowledge on the #9 team. I hope we can keep things moving in the right direction for tomorrow, as qualifying [up front] will be crucial here.”

 

NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy Toronto

Circuit: Exhibition Place (1.786-mile temporary street circuit), Toronto, Ont., Canada

2018 Winner: Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) 93.898 mph average

Weather: Mostly cloudy, mild, 78 degrees F

Top-10 Friday Practice Session Results:

Ps. Driver Team Manufacturer Best Time  Notes
  1. Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 59.8708 sec. 107.391 mph average
  2. Felix Rosenqvist-R Chip Ganassi Racing Honda  59.9311 +0.0603 seconds
  3. Sebastien Bourdais DCR with Vasser-Sullivan Honda  59.9866
  4. Spencer Pigow Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 60.0401
  5. Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 60.1445
  6. Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda  60.4091
  7. Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda  60.4435
  8. Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 60.4509
  9. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda  60.4696
10. Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 60.4981

Other Honda Results

11. James Hinchcliffe Arrow Schmidt Peterson   Honda  60.6106
12. Colton Herta-R Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda  60.6756
14. Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda  60.8161
16. Zach Veach Andretti Autosport Honda  60.9907
17. Santino Ferrucci-R Dale Coyne Racing Honda  61.0845
19. Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda  61.3290
22. Marcus Ericsson-R Arrow Schmidt Peterson   Honda  61.6437