Felipe Nasr’s return to NTT IndyCar Series testing for Team Penske saw the new Porsche Penske Motorsport IMSA GTP champion spend the morning and early afternoon sessions at The Thermal Club near the top of the timing screens. On the final run on Tuesday, just before the sun fell behind the Coachella Valley hills, the Brazilian took the No. 3 Chevy to the top of the running order.
Nasr’s unofficial lap of 1m40.947 was set in relatively cool temperatures for the region, and with many of the teams and manufacturers focusing on the testing of new development pieces or chassis setup concepts, outright lap times weren’t particularly relevant as most of the cars weren’t in race specification.
Behind Nasr, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Hunter McElrea also shot forward in the final session to take second with a lap of 1m41.071s in the No. 21 Chevy. Former Williams F1 driver Logan Sargeant, who was making his IndyCar testing debut, ended the morning in second, led the middle session, and was third in the final outing when the best times were set. Sargeant’s 1m41.139s lap was produced in the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Chevy, and came on his 79th of 84 laps, the most of any driver on the day.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster was fourth in the No. 45 Honda at 1m41.432s, and after the reigning Indy NXT champion, it was two drivers whose afternoons were limited due to car issues. In fifth with Arrow McLaren, Enzo Fittipaldi turned a best lap of 1m41.833s in the No. 5 Chevy, but problems struck before he was able to complete a new tire run like the others. And in sixth, Dale Coyne Racing’s Toby Sowery was dealt multiple setbacks as morning gremlins and a terminal engine problem in the No.18 Honda in the afternoon limited him to 27 total laps and an unrepresentative time of 1m42.021s.