IndyCar spring training test: Colton Herta pips Marcus Ericsson
Colton Herta put Harding Steinbrenner Racing on top in the opening two hours of IndyCar's 'Spring Training' pre-season test at Austin, with his final lap of the session
The Indy Lights runner-up's best lap of 1m48.7443s around the 3.427-mile course edged fellow rookie Marcus Ericsson of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports by 0.0949 seconds.
The HSR team formally announced earlier on Tuesday that it would be running in a technical partnership with Andretti Autosport's technology arm, a day after it parted with Herta's intended team-mate Patricio O'Ward.
Third fastest was the quickest Chevrolet-powered car, the Team Penske entry of 2017 champion Josef Newgarden, who beat another rookie - RC Enerson in Carlin's Dallara-Chevrolet - by 0.19s.
Zach Veach and Marco Andretti were top of the Andretti Autosport contingent, ahead of defending champion Scott Dixon in the Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda.
Spencer Pigot, Alexander Rossi and Max Chilton completed the top 10, with Felix Rosenqvist 12th in the second Ganassi entry.
Morning times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colton Herta | Harding Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m48.7443s | - | 16 |
| 2 | Marcus Ericsson | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Dallara/Honda | 1m48.8392s | 0.0949s | 23 |
| 3 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m49.3531s | 0.6088s | 17 |
| 4 | R.C. Enerson | Carlin | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m49.5431s | 0.7988s | 26 |
| 5 | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 1m49.8118s | 1.0675s | 16 |
| 6 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Herta | Dallara/Honda | 1m49.9725s | 1.2282s | 15 |
| 7 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m50.0077s | 1.2634s | 11 |
| 8 | Spencer Pigot | Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m50.0693s | 1.3250s | 9 |
| 9 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 1m50.1164s | 1.3721s | 14 |
| 10 | Max Chilton | Carlin | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m50.1793s | 1.4350s | 21 |
| 11 | Matheus Leist | AJ Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m50.1800s | 1.4357s | 18 |
| 12 | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m50.2895s | 1.5452s | 16 |
| 13 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 1m50.3752s | 1.6309s | 12 |
| 14 | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m50.4475s | 1.7032s | 20 |
| 15 | Santino Ferrucci | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m50.4487s | 1.7044s | 11 |
| 16 | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m50.6403s | 1.8960s | 19 |
| 17 | James Hinchcliffe | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Dallara/Honda | 1m50.6771s | 1.9328s | 11 |
| 18 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m50.9716s | 2.2273s | 14 |
| 19 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Dallara/Honda | 1m50.9911s | 2.2468s | 15 |
| 20 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m51.0043s | 2.2600s | 7 |
| 21 | Sebastien Bourdais | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m51.0784s | 2.3341s | 16 |
| 22 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Dallara/Honda | 1m51.2893s | 2.5450s | 16 |
| 23 | Ed Jones | Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m51.4207s | 2.6764s | 14 |
| 24 | Tony Kanaan | AJ Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m51.7451s | 3.0008s | 7 |
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Long Beach IndyCar race scrapped due to coronavirus
St Petersburg IndyCar opener to go ahead behind closed doors
How Penske pulled off the blockbuster IndyCar purchase
Inside the strategy that won and lost the IndyCar race at Long Beach
Herta admits he “misjudged” Newgarden IndyCar clash at Long Beach
What will it take to get American drivers in Formula 1?
The plot twist that gave Arrow McLaren’s Ward his first IndyCar win as team principal
Formula E’s new Gen3 Evo car breaks cover
The weekly reality check that has kept MotoGP hype off of Acosta so far in 2024
F2 veteran Ghiotto to make IndyCar debut with Dale Coyne Racing at Barber
The apprenticeship that will aid Ilott's IndyCar to WEC switch at Jota
The long evolution of Dallara's Indy 500 winner
Nigel Mansell’s greatest F1 and Indycar drives
How Ericsson achieved Indy immortality as Ganassi's main man stumbled
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments