New drivers, liveries and track as IndyCar begins Thermal Club test · RaceFans

IndyCar’s pre-season testing began at The Thermal Club in California yesterday, with Andretti’s Colton Herta leading a 27-strong field featuring four new drivers.

The series is holding a combined pre-season test for the full field for the first time at the venue. Thermal Club’s compact layout fits 19 turns into 4.936 kilometres.

Most drivers set their quickest times in the second of two sessions and there was little to separate those at the top. Herta’s 1’39.3721 put him just four-thousandths of a second ahead of RLL’s Christian Lundgaard, with 2021 champion Alex Palou also within three-hundredths of the top time for Ganassi.

Romain Grosjean, entering his second season as a full-time IndyCar driver with Ganassi, set the fourth quickest time. Penske’s reigning champion Will Power completed the top five.

Among the newcomers to the series, Marcus Armstrong was quickest in 10th place. The former Formula 2 driver will contest the road and street course races for Ganassi this year.

Argentinian rookie Agustin Canapino, who will drive a new second car for Juncos Hollinger alongside Callum Ilott, was 21st. Coyne’s Sting Ray Robb and Foyt’s Benjamin Pedersen ended the day at the bottom of the times.

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