Road America Test Recap

Ten drivers representing five teams in the Verizon IndyCar Series took center stage at Road America today, testing for the upcoming 2016 season. It was the first time the open wheel series logged laps around the massive road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin since the 2007 Champ Car event. The Road America Grand Prix will take place June 23-26 next year.

Reigning series champion Scott Dixon was one of the participants, and he was thrilled to be back behind the wheel at Road America. “It’s nice to be back in this area and see so many fans out today, especially for a test day for the first time. The race itself should be pretty good and racing here is the heart of American road racing.”

Dixon’s teammate Tony Kanaan was also oozing with excitement. “The last time I was here was 12 years ago, but Road America is always on my list of favorite tracks. Coming back here today was a blast. It’s a fast track and such a long course that it’s awesome. I’ve enjoyed it, but not being here for 12 years, the first few laps this morning were really cool.”

Charlie Kimball joined his Ganassi teammates on Tuesday, and Team Penske had all four drivers (Will Power, Juan Montoya, Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud) on track. Graham Rahal (RLL), Josef Newgarden (CFH), and Takuma Sato (Foyt) also tested on Tuesday.

Good gracious @roadamerica is a proper track. That's gonna be a BA event next year. Fan turnout was outstanding today as well. Thank you!

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) September 22, 2015

For all the @indycar fans that claim these cars are slow, officially I did the same time today as we ran in ChampCar in 07. End of debate!

— Graham Rahal (@GrahamRahal) September 22, 2015

Official lap times were not released, but many drivers found themselves in the 1:44 lap range.

Our teammate @dariofranchitti holds @roadamerica laprecord (1:39.866 – 2000) 3 sec's safe today. On "reds" n 2016 qual spec, it's possible

— Mike Hull (@IndyMHull) September 22, 2015

There will be more IndyCar testing at Road America next Monday (September 28) as well. Four teams and five drivers will participate in this test, which is closed to the public. It will be the first time James Hinchcliffe returns to his No. 5 Honda-powered car since his life-threatening crash on May 18 during practice for the Indianapolis 500.