Tracy tops chaotic wet practice
Paul Tracy was fastest in the delayed and shortened morning practice session in Toronto - but was one of many drivers to spin on the slippery track
Although conditions had eased from the storm and downpour that caused IndyCar Series practice to begin nearly an hour and a half behind schedule, the circuit remained very treacherous.
This was immediately proved when Dario Franchitti (Ganassi) did a 360 degree spin out of the final corner on his first lap, and then Andretti Green's Tony Kanaan backed heavily into the wall on the entry to the corner.
The incidents continued incessantly after Kanaan's wreckage was cleared up, with the next stoppage caused by Ryan Hunter-Reay stalling at Turn 8 and Marco Andretti emulating team-mate Kanaan's incident in less damaging fashion.
Vision's Ed Carpenter then became the third and final man to hit the Turn 11 wall, with pace-setter Tracy causing the final caution when he spun and stalled on the exit of Turn 3. Having been restarted by the safety crew, the home hero then spun again at Turn 5 while returning to the pits.
With the session reduced from 60 to 35 minutes in the hope of bringing the day back on schedule, there was little opportunity for clear running between the constant yellows, and many drivers gave up without completing an uninterrupted flying lap.
The top four was filled by KV and AGR cars, with Danica Patrick second to Tracy, whose team-mate Mario Moraes was third ahead of Patrick's stablemate Hideki Mutoh.
EJ Viso completed the top five for HVM.
The weather is expected to remain wet for qualifying, but forecasts predict dry conditions for tomorrow's race.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Paul Tracy KV 1m15.5345s 2. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 1m16.0191s + 0.4846s 3. Mario Moraes KV 1m16.1242s + 0.5897s 4. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 1m16.3271s + 0.7926s 5. Ernesto Viso HVM 1m16.4231s + 0.8886s 6. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 1m17.6407s + 2.1062s 7. Dan Wheldon Panther 1m18.7151s + 3.1806s 8. Alex Tagliani Conquest 1m19.0475s + 3.513 s 9. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m19.1080s + 3.5735s 10. Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt 1m19.1929s + 3.6584s 11. Richard Antinucci 3G 1m19.5449s + 4.0104s 12. Will Power Penske 1m19.9812s + 4.4467s 13. Ed Carpenter Vision 1m22.7149s + 7.1804s 14. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m23.8799s + 8.3454s 15. Justin Wilson Coyne 1m27.4314s + 11.8969s 16. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1m39.3550s + 23.8205s 17. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon 1m46.4004s + 30.8659s
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