St. Petersburg, FL (93.7 The Fan) - NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing's new driver Felix Rosenqvist made his presence known during the first practice for the NTT IndyCar Series season opener at the Firestone Grand Prix Of St. Petersburg.
Rosenqvist led the opening session with a fast lap of 1:01.8215 seconds (104.818 mph) in the No. 10 NTT Data Honda.
Andretti Autosports Ryan Hunter-Reay was second fastest with a lap of 1:02.0636 in the No. 28 DHL Honda.
Arrow Schmidt Petersen Motorsports Marcus Ericsson was third fastest in the No. 7 Honda with a lap of 1:02.0811.
Rosenqvist's teammate and defending Series Champion Scott Dixon was fourth fastest in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda with a lap of 1:02.1309.
Hunter-Reay's teammate Alexander Rossi rounded out the Top 5 with a lap of 1:02.1470 in the No. 27 NAPA Honda.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Takuma Sato was sixth (1:02.1571) and his teammate Graham Rahal was eighth (1:02.1852) putting both of Bobby Rahal's cars in the Top 10.
Josef Newgarden was seventh (1:02.1740) in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet and his teammate Will Power was tenth (1:02.2758) in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
The entire Top 10 was separated by a mere 0.4543-seconds.
The only red flag of the session came out just before the end of the session for the No. 81 of rookie Ben Hanley who had a mechanical issue.
The second 45-minute practice session for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg takes place this afternoon from 2:20 p.m. to 3:05 p.m.
A third practice session takes place Saturday morning with knockout style qualifying taking place Saturday afternoon from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
The teams will get a 30-minute warm-up Sunday morning beginning at 9:20 a.m. with the race Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be televised by NBCSN and can be heard on Advanced Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network affiliates.
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