IndyCar makes return to Watkins Glen in five-car test

The Glen event on September 4 replaces a planned street race in Boston cancelled by the promoter because of a multitude of political issues.

Watkins Glen has recently been resurfaced, making Monday's test critical for tyre supplier Firestone. A rain shower allowed it to try wet tyres as well as slicks.

Championship leader Simon Pagenaud and James Hinchcliffe were tasked with tyre work, while Scott Dixon - fresh from taking second place for Ford in GTE Pro in the Le Mans 24 Hours a day earlier - Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi conducted general testing.

Official times were not released, but the pace was well under the 1m28.1322s record set by Ryan Briscoe in 2009.

"Especially with the repave, the track is unbelievably grippy, unbelievably quick, so it's going to be a lot of fun for us when we get here to go racing," said Hinchcliffe.

"It's going to be incredibly physical. You do have some long straights to rest, which helps, but you have some incredible high-G corners - and a lot of them.

"Other than Turn 9, they're all fast corners here. It beats you up.

"There will be track records set. This car would have done it anyway on the old surface, but with the way it is now, I think we will be going pretty quick in qualifying."

The test was Penske driver Pagenaud's first taste of the sometime Formula 1 venue.

"It's a beautiful track and the surroundings are also amazing," he said.

"It takes a lot of commitment here. With the aero kit that we have on the Chevrolet, the car has a lot of downforce."

According to Pagenaud, the teams were running three seconds a lap faster than the previous track record set with the last-generation car and before the resurfacing and the introduction of aero kits.

"It's going to be a long, long race because of the G-forces and how heavy the steering wheel is," said Pagenaud.

"You're going to have to be fit to complete the race and it's going to be a challenge for everybody."

Dixon has the best IndyCar record at Watkins Glen, winning three straight races from 2005-07.

"It's definitely changed a bit, it's really fast with the track repavement," Dixon said.

"The Carousel is pretty much flat now and some of the other corners are close to it.

"Physically it's much more demanding than what we've had in the past, but I think with the repavement it's going to make the racing pretty good.

"Even off line it's still pretty grippy, so it might give you a few different options for passing.

"I think if you trim out [the car], especially for the back straight, you're going to have some good speed going into the Bus Stop."