Hunter-Reay, Honda Head Indy Car Field In Monterey
Hunter-Reay, Honda Head Indy Car Field In Monterey
MONTEREY, Calif. (September 20, 2019) – Honda-powered Ryan Hunter-Reay led the way today at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in the opening day of NTT IndyCar Series practice in preparation for Sunday’s season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Marking the return of Indy car racing to the Monterey peninsula for the first time in 14 years, Hunter-Reay’s best lap time of 1:09.9105 edged fellow Honda racer Alexander Rossi by just two-hundredths of a second to claim honors for the day.
Championship contender Rossi, who enters the weekend 41 points behind leader Josef Newgarden with 100 points on offer for the race winner, ended the day fourth overall. His primary title rivals, Simon Pagenaud and Newgarden, ended the day fifth and seventh, respectively.
Activities continue Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with final practice and qualifying for Sunday’s 90-lap race. Television coverage of the finalround of the 2019 season begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT Sunday on NBC.
Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport Honda) Fastest inFriday practice: “I’m feeling better about the car, but it’s still very tricky out there. There’s a very small window to get it right. I’m not really resting on this one, we have a lot more to do still. It’s tough out there for everyone, and the margin is very, very thin. I think we can still make the car better. We’re going to work to head in the right direction and hopefully put the DHL car on the front row.”
NTT IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey
Circuit:WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (2.238-mile road course) Monterey, Calif.
Weather:Sunny, mild, 77 degrees F
Top-10, Honda Friday Practice Session Results:
Ps. |
Driver |
Team |
Manufacturer |
Best Time |
Notes |
1. |
Ryan Hunter-Reay |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:09.9105 |
115.244 mph average |
2. |
Felix Rosenqvist-R |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
1:09.9305 |
|
3. |
Colton Herta-R |
Harding Steinbrenner Racing |
Honda |
1:09.9317 |
|
4. |
Alexander Rossi |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:10.0988 |
|
5. |
Simon Pagenaud |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:10.1352 |
|
6. |
Santino Ferrucci-R |
Dale Coyne Racing |
Honda |
1:10.2066 |
|
7. |
Josef Newgarden |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:10.2248 |
|
8. |
Scott Dixon |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
1:10.2722 |
|
9. |
Will Power |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:10.3350 |
|
10. |
Marcus Ericsson |
Arrow Schmidt Peterson |
Honda |
1:10.3910 |
|
Other Honda Results
12. |
Marco Andretti |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:10.4426 |
|
13. |
Takuma Sato |
Rahal Letterman Lanigan |
Honda |
1:10.4468 |
|
15. |
Conor Daly |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:10.4633 |
|
17. |
Zach Veach |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:10.6620 |
|
19. |
Sebastien Bourdais |
DCR with Vasser-Sullivan |
Honda |
1:10.7071 |
|
20. |
James Hinchcliffe |
Arrow Schmidt Peterson |
Honda |
1:10.7730 |
|
21. |
Graham Rahal |
Rahal Letterman Lanigan |
Honda |
1:10.8807 |
|
24. |
Jack Havey |
Meyer Shank Racing |
Honda |
1:11.0584 |
|