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Josef Newgarden tops Indy 500 practice as Alonso, Rosenqvist crash

One-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden put Penske top of Thursday practice for the Indianapolis 500, as both Fernando Alonso and Felix Rosenqvist crashed

Chevrolet-powered Newgarden lapped the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 228.856mph to edge out Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda's Scott Dixon by 0.021mph.

Ed Carpenter Racing, which took pole for the 2018 race through team owner Ed Carpenter, was third thanks to Spencer Pigot's best effort.

But the session was also interrupted by a crash for ex-Formula 1 driver Alonso, pictured below, who hit the wall at Turn 3 after 46 laps.

He was cleared from the medical centre and McLaren did not complete any further laps as it opted to repair the car rather than prepare the back-up machine.

Dixon's team-mate Rosenqvist also crashed after closely following fellow rookie Colton Herta through the short chute between Turns 1 and 2.

He pinched down toward the grass and the rear of the car looped around, causing him to go backwards into the outside SAFER barrier.

Rosenqvist was later cleared by the medical centre.

He said: "I'm good. I was behind Colton (Herta) and just trying to run the car in traffic, and I just felt a very sudden change of having a bit of push, and it went very loose very fast.

"I couldn't react to it. Luckily my team has built a really, really good car, a really safe car. I'm completely fine.

"I just have to really analyse what happened there. I'm not sure if I was down on the kerb.

"It kind of looks like I could have been up a little bit, and that probably explains it. I cannot really remember.

"A shame, but that's how it is."

Santino Ferrucci was the top rookie, clocking fourth for Dale Coyne Racing, ahead of three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves and Ferrucci's team-mate Sebastien Bourdais.

Zach Veach was the leading Andretti Autosport driver with the seventh fastest time. Veach was the last driver to lap the 228mph bracket, with Charlie Kimball - who took third in 2015 - running eighth for Carlin Racing.

In the no-tow speeds - speeds set without the aid of a draft from a car or cars ahead - Andretti's Alexander Rossi led the rankings on 224.648mph.

AJ Foyt Racing's Tony Kanaan was second-fastest, with Jones and Kimball third and fourth.

Patricio O'Ward, who suffered a mechanical issue in his Carlin car yesterday, breezed through all three phases of his rookie orientation practice this morning before the track opened.

O'Ward went on to finish the day 22nd and 13th in the no-tow speeds.

Result

Pos Driver Team Car Speed Laps
1 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 228.856 82
2 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda 228.835 109
3 Spencer Pigot Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 228.658 108
4 Santino Ferrucci Dale Coyne Racing Dallara/Honda 228.561 90
5 Helio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 228.441 68
6 Sebastien Bourdais Dale Coyne Racing Dallara/Honda 228.271 104
7 Zach Veach Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 228.057 107
8 Charlie Kimball Carlin Dallara/Chevrolet 227.472 94
9 Ed Jones Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 227.304 91
10 Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 227.192 90
11 Kyle Kaiser Juncos Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 227.079 79
12 Matheus Leist AJ Foyt Enterprises Dallara/Chevrolet 227.038 85
13 Marco Andretti Andretti Herta Dallara/Honda 227.037 80
14 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Dallara/Honda 227.008 100
15 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 226.831 85
16 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda 226.787 95
17 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Dallara/Honda 226.765 120
18 Conor Daly Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 226.683 112
19 Oriol Servia Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Dallara/Honda 226.683 88
20 J.R. Hildebrand Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 226.646 86
21 Will Power Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 226.609 97
22 Patricio O'Ward Carlin Dallara/Chevrolet 226.441 70
23 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Dallara/Honda 226.395 58
24 Tony Kanaan AJ Foyt Enterprises Dallara/Chevrolet 226.364 63
25 James Davison Dale Coyne Racing Dallara/Honda 226.063 106
26 Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 225.851 37
27 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 225.696 99
28 Marcus Ericsson Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Dallara/Honda 225.685 111
29 Fernando Alonso McLaren Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 225.433 46
30 Max Chilton Carlin Dallara/Chevrolet 225.430 114
31 Jordan King Rahal Letterman Lanigan Dallara/Honda 225.291 132
32 James Hinchcliffe Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Dallara/Honda 225.259 112
33 Colton Herta Harding Racing Dallara/Honda 224.704 111
34 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 224.648 46
35 Pippa Mann Clauson-Marshall Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 224.448 54
36 Ben Hanley DragonSpeed Dallara/Chevrolet 224.361 90

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