Day 2 - Indy 500 test: Collet shines, DRR’s strong start & Sato’s “happy place”
- Archie O’Reilly
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
IndyCar’s two-day Indianapolis 500 open test has concluded at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), marking the final running ahead of the fast-approaching Month of May.
Overnight rain delayed the day’s start by a little over an hour as the track was dried, though it was a largely successful outing on the weather front. Once the track opened, two hours were dedicated to all cars, before a one-hour window for HMD Motorsport/AJ Foyt Racing’s Katherine Legge’s refresher programme, then just shy of three hours more all-stake.
The test ended without wall contact but the final session saw Jack Harvey’s Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (DRR) machine go up in smoke through Turns 3 and 4 in the week’s biggest moment of incident. Heading a seven-car pack, any strife for those behind was fortuitously avoided.
With a rookie leading the way, DIVEBOMB unpacks the second day of test action…
Debutant dazzles atop the charts
Wednesday’s initial session saw the test’s unbeaten one-lap average speed logged by Foyt rookie Caio Collet in early traffic running. The Brazilian topped the two-day combined speed charts with a blistering 226.381 mph lap, ahead of Team Penske’s two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden - the only other driver to break the 226 mph barrier.
“I never expected that,” Collet said. “Obviously I knew that the team have a really good background here and they’ve done really well the last couple of years, especially last year. But as a rookie, I was just trying to learn things and see how everything went.
“I think we did a really good job. The team got me up to speed really quickly and I got really comfortably quickly. I have a lot of things that I still need to learn, especially in traffic; I need to understand how to manage traffic and how to get by people. By myself, I felt really good. The team gave me a really good car. Both days, we were just improving step by step.
“When you were seeing on your dash 232 [mph], 230 [mph], it’s really impressive, especially when you get behind a group of people. It’s honestly the coolest thing I ever did in my life.”
DRR’s Conor Daly’s chart-topping 225.394 mph lap from Tuesday held on for the third quickest of the test, ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR)’s defending winner Álex Palou and Meyer Shank Racing (MSR)’s four-time winner Hélio Castroneves .
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL)’s Takuma Sato, CGR’s Scott Dixon, Penske’s David Malukas and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi completed the test’s overall top 10. Dale Coyne Racing (DCR)’s Romain Grosjean and MSR’s Felix Rosenqvist also broke into the 224 mph range.
For the second day running, Harvey led the no-tow times for the Indy-only DRR outfit, peaking with a 221.112 mph lap. Castroneves followed in the two-day no-tow order, ahead of Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood, Rossi, Rosenqvist, Foyt’s Santino Ferrucci, CGR’s Kyffin Simpson, Ed Carpenter, Daly and Collet.
Rookies head the lap charts
Not only did Collet record the test’s standout time, but the rookie also logged the most laps across the two days, with 227 completed. Fellow rookie Mick Schumacher was the only other driver to break the 200 mark with 215 for RLL, though DCR’s Dennis Hauger ended one shy of the milestone with his 199 completed laps.
Jacob Abel made up for only recording a solitary lap in Tuesday’s final session by bringing his test tally to 156 for Abel Motorsports. He was the second-best-placed rookie in 13th across the two days, with Hauger and Schumacher a solid 17th and 20th.
Seven other drivers broke the 150-lap mark across the test: Grosjean (189), Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR)’s Rinus VeeKay (175), Carpenter (170), Simpson (161), Ferrucci (159), Sato (156) and Andretti Global’s Will Power (151).
On the flip side, JHR’s Sting Ray Robb (87) and Legge (82) were the only drivers not to reach the century mark. But after missing Day 1 of running, the latter in particular made up good ground, as she successfully passed her refresher programme.
DRR produce standout test
With Harvey leading both days’ no-tow speed charts and Daly placing first and fourth overall, it has thus far been a particularly excellent return to track action for the one-off DRR team.
“We know how it is testing: you don’t really know. Everyone is trying to learn, trying to figure out things when we get to May,” Daly said. “We had a list of things we wanted to do. We got through a lot of lists. That’s what it’s all about. If we’re fast while doing that, then awesome.
“We’ve come out here and the car’s really fast. I can feel that it has a little bit of that natural speed that you desire so badly here. Those last two runs were real telltale signs; Takuma, Santino, Palou and Pato, that’s a pretty solid group. It felt like we were able to tow up better than anybody else. I was on the 20- to 30-lap tyre window. It did feel pretty competitive.”
Harvey’s test ended on a sour note with his mechanical issue, which is to be investigated as the team pull the engine from the car at the workshop. But while hard to gauge a full picture without everyone focusing on qualifying, his solo speed has provided early encouragement.
“Hopefully it’s just validation for everybody on the team [that] their hard work in the off-season is bearing some fruit,” he said. “[But] we have no idea where anybody else was and we’ve got a decent amount left to come.
“This morning was some qualifying work for us. It’s really about trying to validate all of our tool sets, so throughout [May], we can trust our information. That’s a really huge thing.”
Without the ‘distraction’ of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis like for the full-time teams, DRR now have two full-focus weeks to unpack and build upon their learnings from the test before the Indy 500 fortnight commences with the first of four full practice days.
“I think we’ll be pretty similar,” Daly said. “Ganassi will show up with their speedway cars; some other people will show up with their speedway cars. For the most part, mountains don’t move from now to May. You might be able to find a few small things here and there. We also will get better. We know immediately how to get better. That’s what excites us most.”
Sato’s “happy place” & fox encounter
The RLL team have been something of a story in recent years at the Indy 500, owing largely to some of their qualifying struggles. This year, with no bumping expected, that such drama has already been averted. But there is confidence within the team anyway.
While testing brake components at IMS post-season last year, Sato struggled with the rear of his car - a continual issue on ovals for RLL in recent years. But those issues were eliminated in the open test, which the team leaves pleased with their progress.
“In fall was colder with minimum amount of the cars was running, no rubber left,” Sato said. “[The car] was certainly a little bit nervous. Come back here, I think in open test we brought exactly same setup from the fall test… the nervousness was gone.
“You can tell Graham was a lot happier [on Tuesday], as well as this morning he was super happy. In the shop, engineers did a great job, the mechanics did a great job. Particularly No.75 crew was very limited; preparation for getting good people, quality people, is the biggest challenge [for a one-off entry]. From that point of view, I think the team did a fantastic job.
“Now four cars, meticulous quality control; build spec is very, very good. Everybody is happy. Me specifically, back in the car after six months absent, still happy place to be. It’s been a very positive two days.”
Two-time Indy 500 winner Sato has been standout in the team’s Indy-only entry in the past two years - qualifying second and leading the most laps last year - even if there have been struggles among the full-time entries. But he leaves this year’s test, which he topped last year but ended with a crash, as pleased as he has been since returning to the team.
“I would say I’m really happy, happier than the last few seasons. We were able to build a very fast car [on a] single lap or by yourself, leading the pack. Certainly our weakness was in the race; certainly not the strongest car. From that point of view, we came here with a different philosophy. Super happy to see that is starting to working.
“We are still halfway to what we want, but it’s certainly much better. In the pack already, not even May yet, I think this is the best preparation I ever had from the years with Rahal.”
Sato was also involved in one of the day’s most striking moments, passing and mercifully avoiding a fox on track, which brought out a caution in the afternoon.
“I couldn’t identify what it was but it was not a car part,” he said. “I couldn’t see the moving because we went 230 miles an hour. It was something more like a natural thing. It was right in the middle of the corner. Very fortunate that we both happily come back home.”
From Michael to Mick for Sato
In a full-circle moment, Sato was reminded that he stood on the Indianapolis podium with Michael Schumacher in Formula One in 2004. Now, 22 years later, he is teammates with Mick Schumacher, as the son of the seven-time F1 champion makes his Indy 500 debut.
“It is fantastic to see Mick,” Sato said. “You can see there is a lots of DNA from his father. Michael Schumacher was everybody’s hero. I was fortunate enough to go wheel-to-wheel with Michael Schumacher... it’s a phenomenal experience.
“Seeing his son Mick, the way he speaks, intonation, down on earth, great guy, is exactly like his father. Obviously Mick wanted to be Mick, not Michael’s son. Of course, I respect that. But really happy to see him. Look, he is now really quick - only second day for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We had lot of good discussion.
“Really happy to work with him. Happy memory with his father here too.”
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