Marcus Ericsson was the fastest in the recent two-day IndyCar Series open test at The Thermal Club.
The reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, Ericsson, produced the best lap, nearly a second quicker than the top time set on Thursday by Colton Herta in the Andretti Autosport Honda.
Teams largely use the opening preseason test to work through setup ideas developed during the offseason or to test new parts and their effectiveness, therefore making lap times and results less indicative of actual performance.
Of the three Kiwis, it was IndyCar rookie Marcus Armstrong who was quickest.
Marcus Armstrong
“My expectation, or at least my goal, was to be top-5 on the test. I think it went better than I expected. I got used to the car quicker than I thought. I thought there might be a day where I go, ‘Woah, okay that is what it is like.’ But I felt comfortable right away. Satisfaction is the killer of motorsport, so I don’t want to say that I’m satisfied, but it was good.”
Scott Dixon
“It was fun to get back into an IndyCar after the downtime in the offseason. Obviously, a big thanks to everyone at Thermal for getting us out here. It’s a new track, and one different from what we typically run on. Looking forward to kicking off the season. This just means we’re getting a little bit closer. We’ll keep working away until then.”
Scott McLaughlin
“I’m sure it’s realistic. I believe in myself that I can do it and be a part of the fight again. I mean, being a part of the fight last year was a pretty cool moment. Realistically, we weren’t really a part of the fight, but we were mathematically in it. This year for sure I’m excited to continue to learn and be a sponge, and just execute the way I think we need to execute to be there at the end. I truly believe I can do that.”
Up next for the NTT IndyCar Series is the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 5 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Images thanks to IndyCar
