Tagliani leads Indy practice
Alex Tagliani was fastest for Sam Schmidt Motorsports on the first uninterrupted day of practice for this year's Indianapolis 500 on Monday
With showers having caused several stoppages on Saturday - which was in any case largely a shakedown for most top teams - and rain having prompted the complete cancellation of Sunday's running, yesterday's session was the first time that the field was able to get the full scheduled six hours in.
Tagliani emerged fastest at an average speed of 225.878mph. The Canadian said he was keen to build on his 2010 Indy form, when his team - then known as FAZZT - was the quickest non-Penske/Ganassi runner in qualifying and he took fifth on the grid.
"We had a chance in 2010 to develop a good base and in the winter, the guys worked really hard on the car and cleaned it up a bit and always paid attention to details," he said. "That's what this place wants, and it's nice to start the week with a car that's quite strong.
"Hopefully we can build on it. You can never take anything for granted at this place. We have to stay on our toes all week and roll the car out for qualifying and hope for the best."
Ganassi duo Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal were next up, ahead of Penske's Ryan Briscoe and Newman/Haas driver Oriol Servia.
A total of 39 drivers took to the track, with only Schmidt/Rahal driver Jay Howard choosing to sit the session out as he conserved tyres for later in the month.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 39.8445s 2. Scott Dixon Ganassi 39.9779s + 0.1334s 3. Graham Rahal Ganassi 39.9874s + 0.1429s 4. Ryan Briscoe Penske 39.9972s + 0.1527s 5. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas 40.0172s + 0.1727s 6. Vitor Meira Foyt 40.0332s + 0.1887s 7. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 40.1059s + 0.2614s 8. Helio Castroneves Penske 40.1163s + 0.2718s 9. Marco Andretti Andretti 40.1401s + 0.2956s 10. Will Power Penske 40.1815s + 0.3370s 11. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher 40.1916s + 0.3471s 12. Paul Tracy Dreyer & Reinbold 40.2180s + 0.3735s 13. Buddy Rice Panther 40.2307s + 0.3862s 14. Raphael Matos AFS 40.2405s + 0.3960s 15. Danica Patrick Andretti 40.2530s + 0.4085s 16. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 40.2800s + 0.4355s 17. Bertrand Baguette Rahal Letterman Lanigan 40.2813s + 0.4368s 18. John Andretti Petty/Andretti 40.2921s + 0.4476s 19. Townsend Bell Sam Schmidt 40.3002s + 0.4557s 20. JR Hildebrand Panther 40.3224s + 0.4779s 21. Ho-Pin Tung Dragon 40.3277s + 0.4832s 22. Tony Kanaan KV 40.3528s + 0.5083s 23. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 40.3638s + 0.5193s 24. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 40.3717s + 0.5272s 25. Davey Hamilton Dreyer & Reinbold 40.4048s + 0.5603s 26. Bruno Junqueira Foyt 40.4316s + 0.5871s 27. Takuma Sato KV 40.4485s + 0.6040s 28. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold 40.5037s + 0.6592s 29. Scott Speed Dragon 40.5086s + 0.6641s 30. Simona de Silvestro HVM 40.5926s + 0.7481s 31. Charlie Kimball Ganassi 40.6220s + 0.7775s 32. Dan Wheldon Herta 40.6740s + 0.8295s 33. Tomas Scheckter KV/SH 40.6865s + 0.8420s 34. EJ Viso KV 40.7063s + 0.8618s 35. Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 40.7129s + 0.8684s 36. Pippa Mann Conquest 40.7502s + 0.9057s 37. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne 40.8145s + 0.9700s 38. Mike Conway Andretti 41.0286s + 1.1841s 39. James Jakes Dale Coyne 41.0780s + 1.2335s
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