Ganassi’s Scott Dixon sweeps IndyCar Friday practice at Toronto – IndyCar

Chip Ganassi Racing driver and IndyCar championship leader Scott Dixon topped both Friday practice sessions ahead of the Toronto race.

Dixon’s fastest time of 59.0751 seconds came in the second session, a period in which most teams used the softer Firestone red-walled tyre compound.

That left him 0.4s clear of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato as RLLR proved Dixon’s closest challenger in both practices.

In the first session, it was Graham Rahal leading the RLLR two-car effort in second, but he spun out of the final corner in the second practice and proved to be only fourth fastest.

The RLLR cars were split by the fastest of the Andretti Autosport machines in the afternoon running with Detroit polesitter Marco Andretti in third, a feat he repeated in both sessions.

He beat team-mate Alexander Rossi by half a tenth, while Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot – who scored his first IndyCar podium at Iowa last weekend – was an impressive sixth and the fastest Chevrolet-powered runner.

Ryan Hunter-Reay rubbed the outside wall at Turn 1 but recovered to take eighth in the morning, before doing so again in the second practice session.

Defending Toronto winner and defending champion, Penske’s Josef Newgarden was seventh fastest in the afternoon, but it was a torrid session for team-mate Will Power who not only grated his left-hand wheels along the Turn 1 wall but then also slithered into the Turn 1 run-off area, eventually winding up 16th and 1.2s off Dixon’s benchmark.

Local drivers Robert Wickens and James Hinchcliffe had a difficult day in their home race weekend for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

Wickens was best placed in the first session down in 11th, with Hinchcliffe the top SPM driver in the afternoon with 10th.

Conor Daly improved in his first IndyCar weekend with Harding Racing having replaced Gabby Chaves at Toronto, going from 20th in the morning to 17th in the afternoon.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Jordan King had a morning to forget when he ran out of fuel on the course and brought out a red flag. He then finished 21st in the afternoon, rounding out a difficult Friday.

Free practice one results

Free practice two results