THERMAL, Calif. (Friday, Feb. 3, 2023) – Marcus Ericsson was the quickest of four Chip Ganassi Racing drivers in the top 10 Friday as the two-day NTT INDYCAR SERIES open test at The Thermal Club took the checkered flag.
Reigning Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Ericsson produced a best lap of 1 minute, 38.4223 seconds in the No. 8 Honda, nearly a second quicker than the top Thursday time of 1:39.3721 turned by Colton Herta in the No. 26 Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Honda.
SEE: Day 2 Test Results | End of Day News Conference Video
Christian Lundgaard of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing capped an impressive performance on the 17-turn, 3.067-mile layout by ending up second at 1:38.5682 in the No. 45 Honda. 2022 series Rookie of the Year Lundgaard also was second quickest Thursday and the only driver to finish in the top five on both days of the test at the private, world-class facility located just outside Palm Springs, California.
Kyle Kirkwood was third at 1:38.7885 in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda. 2021 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Kirkwood joined Andretti after driving for AJ Foyt Racing as a rookie in 2022.
Ending up third on the time sheets continued an impressive, yet deceiving, performance for Kirkwood at this test. He ended up 15th on the time sheets Thursday, but he missed the afternoon session due to a clutch change after recording the second-quickest lap in the morning.
“It’s a new team for me, new group of guys, kind of jelling with them to see how everyone operates,” Kirkwood said. “I wouldn’t say that we found something here that is going to translate to anywhere, right? This is a very unique track, although it was a lot of fun to drive, and it kind of surprised me in the amount of grip that it actually produced.”
“Honestly, it felt pretty easy to get to the top in this car. It’s not really needed to try and overextend anything.”
Another second-year driver, Callum Ilott, was fourth overall at 1:38.8404 in the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet. Ilott was the quickest Chevrolet-powered driver and led the afternoon session with his best lap.
Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five at 1:38.8409 in the No. 11 Honda. 2021 series champion Alex Palou was the third-quickest Ganassi driver, seventh at 1:38.8718 in the No. 10 Honda. Six-time series champion Scott Dixon was the other Ganassi driver in the top 10, 10th at 1:38.9762 in the No. 9 Honda.
Thursday leader Herta dropped to 15th Friday, with a best lap of 1:39.1047.
Up next for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on Sunday, March 5 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. NBC and Peacock will provide live coverage starting at noon ET.
The Thermal Club Open Test
Combined Results of Practice
Practice 4
Rank Car Driver Name C/E/T Session Time Speed Total Laps
1 8 Ericsson, Marcus D/H/F Practice 3 01:38.4223 112.182 79
2 45 Lundgaard, Christian D/H/F Practice 3 01:38.5682 112.016 103
3 27 Kirkwood, Kyle D/H/F Practice 3 01:38.7885 111.766 66
4 77 Ilott, Callum D/C/F Practice 4 01:38.8404 111.707 89
5 11 Armstrong, Marcus (R) D/H/F Practice 4 01:38.8409 111.707 101
6 12 Power, Will D/C/F Practice 3 01:38.8702 111.674 97
7 10 Palou, Alex D/H/F Practice 4 01:38.8718 111.672 98
8 3 McLaughlin, Scott D/C/F Practice 3 01:38.9052 111.634 111
9 6 Rosenqvist, Felix D/C/F Practice 3 01:38.9410 111.594 85
10 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F Practice 3 01:38.9762 111.554 101
11 60 Pagenaud, Simon D/H/F Practice 4 01:38.9769 111.553 93
12 2 Newgarden, Josef D/C/F Practice 3 01:39.0301 111.493 98
13 7 Rossi, Alexander D/C/F Practice 3 01:39.0913 111.425 83
14 28 Grosjean, Romain D/H/F Practice 3 01:39.0944 111.421 92
15 26 Herta, Colton D/H/F Practice 4 01:39.1047 111.409 87
16 5 O’Ward, Pato D/C/F Practice 3 01:39.1486 111.360 80
17 18 Malukas, David D/H/F Practice 4 01:39.3668 111.116 122
18 06 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F Practice 3 01:39.3803 111.100 99
19 29 DeFrancesco, Devlin D/H/F Practice 3 01:39.5308 110.932 99
20 30 Harvey, Jack D/H/F Practice 3 01:39.6960 110.749 97
21 78 Canapino, Agustin (R) D/C/F Practice 4 01:39.7039 110.740 97
22 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F Practice 4 01:39.7432 110.696 95
23 21 VeeKay, Rinus D/C/F Practice 3 01:39.8912 110.532 110
24 51 Robb, Sting Ray (R) D/H/F Practice 4 01:39.8983 110.524 122
25 14 Ferrucci, Santino D/C/F Practice 3 01:39.9366 110.482 70
26 20 Daly, Conor D/C/F Practice 3 01:40.1192 110.281 94
27 55 Pedersen, Benjamin (R) D/C/F Practice 4 01:40.1297 110.269 92
