Photo by Kyle McInnes

Alex Palou was the fastest driver at Detroit in 2023 on the new downtown street circuit. He picked up today right where he left the Motor City, recording the quickest lap in this afternoon’s opening practice session.

Palou thinks the track has improved since last year.

“It was busy,” Palou told Indycar. “I visited the run-off areas a couple of times here and there, just trying to find the limit and the grip of the track. The track is grippier, a lot grippier, than last year. Pretty happy. The car feels good so far.”

This practice period began with a 45-minute session for all drivers and ended with two 10-minute sessions, each with half the field.

Colton Herta led the 45-minute session with a time of 1:02.0219. Palou chopped three tenths from Herta’s time with a lap of 1:01.7210. Pato O’Ward had the second quickest time of 1:01.7315.

Notes

Marcus Ericsson’s difficult month of May continued as he slapped the wall hard with his right rear tire. He was 14th on the speed charts.

Woes continue for car 18. Nolan Siegel crashed attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, and today jack Harvey grazed the inside wall and then slid across the track, hitting the outside wall hard. The right front wheel was torn from the car.

The view on the screen: This track does not present as an attractive venue on television. Granted, downtown Detroit is not that scenic, but the GM Tower and the waterfront could get some more tv time. Perhaps NBC could do with a few (a lot) less on-board camera shots here. The viewer has no idea where the car is, and there is not camera on Atwater with a view of a car zipping along the shore.

Practice resumes tomorrow morning at 9:15 am Eastern with qualifying at 12:15. I will cover the practice, but I will be at commencement for a favorite student of mine. I will watch the replay and post a report tomorrow late afternoon.

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