- Mikhail Aleshin leads Honda contingent in "The Test in the West"
- 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series opens March 12 in St. Petersburg, Florida
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' Mikhail Aleshin led the Honda contingent at the two-day "Test in the West" at Phoenix International Raceway, posting the sixth fastest speed during the Saturday afternoon session as the Verizon IndyCar Series field completed preparations for the 2017 season.
Tony Kanaan ended the test seventh fastest as Chip Ganassi Racing returns to the Honda Indy car camp for 2017. Another driver returning to Honda, Dale Coyne Racing's Sebastien Bourdais, ran ninth. Aleshin's teammate, James Hinchcliffe, rounded out the top 10 for Honda at the test.
This weekend's test marked the public debut of the twin-turbocharged Honda HI17RTT V6 Indy engine. The Verizon IndyCar Series season opens on March 12 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Mikhail Aleshin (Schmidt Peterson Motorsport Honda): "We did a good job in today's first session, and it was pretty productive; we went through our test plan and everything went perfect. I know we are the fastest Honda, so that is pretty good, but there are still a lot of things in our plan to work on in the final session. This test has been great. We're here in Arizona, the weather is great, nice people around and I'm with my team, so I think that's what matters and I'm really enjoying our time here."
Art St. Cyr (President, Honda Performance Development) on this weekend's open test: "After a long off-season, it does feel good to be back on track again. This being a test weekend, you can't read too much into the results, and we know we still have work to do prior to the start of the season. But we are looking forward to the start of racing next month in St. Petersburg, and to seeking our fourth victory in the last six years at the Indianapolis 500."
Verizon IndyCar Series Test in the West
Circuit: Phoenix International Raceway (1.022-mile oval), Avondale, AZ
Weather: Mostly sunny, mild, 78 degrees afternoon, 71 degrees evening
Combined Session Results:
Ps. |
Driver |
Team |
Manufacturer |
Best Time |
Average Speed/Notes |
1. |
JR Hildebrand |
Ed Carpenter Racing |
Chevrolet |
19.0401 sec. |
193.234 mph |
2. |
Ed Carpenter |
Ed Carpenter Racing |
Chevrolet |
19.1223 sec. |
192.404 mph |
3. |
Josef Newgarden |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
19.1693 sec. |
191.932 mph |
4. |
Helio Castroneves |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
19.1957 sec. |
191.668 mph |
5. |
Will Power |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
19.1988 sec. |
191.636 mph |
6. |
Mikhail Aleshin |
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
Honda |
19.2549 sec. |
191.097 mph |
7. |
Tony Kanaan |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
19.2656 sec. |
190.973 mph |
8. |
Simon Pagenaud |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
19.2788 sec. |
190.842 mph |
9. |
Sebastien Bourdais |
Dale Coyne Racing |
Honda |
19.3236 sec. |
190.399 mph |
10. |
James Hinchcliffe |
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
Honda |
19.3455 sec. |
190.184 mph |
Other Honda-powered Results:
11. |
Scott Dixon |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
19.3548 sec. |
190.092 mph |
12. |
Ryan Hunter-Reay |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
19.3932 sec. |
189.716 mph |
13. |
Graham Rahal |
Rahal Letterman Lanigan |
Honda |
19.4428 sec. |
189.232 mph |
14. |
Marco Andretti |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
19.4541sec. |
189.122 mph |
15. |
Max Chilton |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
19.4740 sec. |
188.929 mph |
16. |
Takuma Sato |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
19.4953 sec. |
188.722 mph |
18. |
Ed Jones-R |
Dale Coyne Racing |
Honda |
19.5399 sec. |
188.292 mph |
19. |
Charlie Kimball |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
19.5667 sec. |
188.034 mph |
21. |
Alexander Rossi |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
19.6108 sec. |
187.611 mph |