Simon Pagenaud’s fastest time in the Meyer Shank Racing-Honda in first practice was over two seconds faster than Colton Herta’s quickest time in the opening session of last year’s GP Long Beach – held in the fall – despite today’s temperatures hovering around the 100degF mark.
Fellow former Long Beach winner Rossi, a semi-teammate on the Andretti Autosport-Honda side, was 0.4sec slower but that was still enough to grab P2.
He believed the IndyCars benefited from the rubber laid down in two IMSA sessions, as well as other support series, which added to his surprise at the pace.
“The track was black,” said Rossi, who won here in 2018 and ’19. “There was a huge amount of grip. Not always does the rubber [on track] translate to performance for us.
“It was already very fast, despite it being over 130 degrees track temp.
Pagenaud, 2016 GPLB winner, said: “What I noticed is on track it seems like there’s new sealants from Turn 1 all the way to Turn 5. I’m…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Motorsport.com – All – Stories…