How IndyCar fared at the Thermal Club Open Test

The IndyCar spring test has been conducted at the Thermal Club Open Test with both Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian’s and Chip Ganassi on top of the order after both test days.

Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian’s Colton Herta topped the opening day of running at the Californian circuit, The Thermal Club, with a blistering 1:39.9303 lap time.

On day two, of the two-day test, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong went nearly a second faster by the end of the test with an incredible lap of 1:38.4223 seconds.

The Thermal Open Test was the first open test for the series since the 2020 preseason test at the Circuit of The Americas. In addition, it was IndyCar’s first appearance at the venue which opened back in 2012.

Day 1

Across the day, the 27-driver field managed to rack up an impressive tally of laps completed across both the morning and afternoon sessions with total of 1,119 laps completed.

Herta stood on top of the timing sheets with the overall best time only 0.0046 seconds faster than Rahan Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard who sat in second place.

The 2021 series champion, Alex Palou, finished the day in third with the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing car to round out the top three drivers.

For the remaining top 10 drivers, Romain Grosjean sat in fourth place to be better than the rest ahead of, two-time series winner and defending champion, Will Power who was P5.

The remaining top 10:

6. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi – 1:39.6211

7. Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing – 1:39.6673

8. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske – 1:39.7657

9. Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing – 1:39.7862

10. Marcus Armstrong (R), Chip Ganassi – 1:39.9077

With only 37 laps to his belt, A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ rookie Benjamin Pedersen finished at the back of the field – in 27th – with the slowest time of the day. The A.J. driver also finished the day alongside Dale Coyne Racing with RWR’s rookie, Sting Ray Robb who finished 26th, 0.3755 seconds faster than Pedersen.

Day 2

On the second – and final – day of testing, the 27 drivers put in an almighty stint to complete 2,560 laps across both sessions – 1441 more laps than the first test (1,119).

The defending Indianapolis 500 winner, Ericsson, popped in the best time of the test with a 1:38.4223 by the end of the second day of testing. The Chip Ganassi driver beat the previous record, on day one, by nearly a second – which was set by Herta.

It was two-for-two for Lundgaard who put in another great lap to finish the test with the second best time, 0.1459 seconds off Ericsson’s pace.

However, Kyle Kirkwood – who finished the first day P15 – finished the test with the third fastest time with a time of 1:38.7885, 0.3662 seconds off the fastest time.

Ilott and, Chip Ganassi’s rookie, Marcus Armstrong finished the second day P4 (+0.4181) and P5 (+0.4186) respectively, to round out the top five.

Remaining top 10 drivers:

6. Will Power, Team Penske – 01:38.8702

7. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing – 1:38.8718

8. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske – 1:38.9052

9. Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren – 1:38.9410

10. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing 1:38.9762

Despite Herta best efforts on the opening test and putting in the fastest lap of the first day, with a 1:39.3721, the American driver could only manage 15th in the second test with a 1:39.1047.

Similarly, Pedersen finished the second day – and overall test – in 27th and at the bottom of the timing sheets with his quickest lap time of 1:40.1297, behind Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly who was 26th (01:40.1192).

IndyCar will return on March 5, 2023, when the sport goes green for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, in Florida, at 12pm ET (5pm GMT).

That’s it for the article: How IndyCar fared at the Thermal Club Open Test!

Who are your early favourites to win the IndyCar title, this year, after the open test? Let us know in the comments!

Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.