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'No anxiety' as Hinchcliffe returns to Indianapolis after crash

James Hinchcliffe said he felt "no anxiety" as he returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in IndyCar testing on Wednesday almost a year on from his near-fatal crash

The Canadian suffered substantial blood loss when a suspension failure pitched him into the wall at 228mph in practice for last year's Indianapolis 500.

He was ruled out of the rest of the 2015 season, but rejoined the Schmidt Peterson team this year.

Hinchcliffe's participation in Wednesday's open test was his first run at Indianapolis since the crash.

"There was no anxiety at all," Hinchcliffe said.

"It's my job but it's my passion, too. It's never something I've been afraid of. Hopefully it's never something I am afraid of.

"Everyone was going to be thinking about it until we got out here and ran some laps."

He was 14th fastest at the test, 1.5 seconds off pacesetter Marco Andretti.

"It's always nice to be back at the Speedway; we all say that all the time and it's extra nice to be able to go around at pace today," Hinchcliffe added.

"Sitting out last year was tough. Getting to watch all my friends and colleagues go do the greatest race on earth and have to be watching from the sidelines is a big blow, for sure.

"This is our Super Bowl, this is what we really put as much attention on as anything else. Of all the ones to miss, it's the hardest.

"To get the opportunity now to come back, it definitely feels a little more rewarding."

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