Ryan Hunter-Reay and Andretti Autosport have done a nice job this weekend in Sao Paulo. Now the American driver will have some momentum going into this morning’s qualifying session and, later on, the Sao Paulo Indy 300 (11:30 a.m. ET, Versus). Hunter-Reay took the No. 37 IZOD machine to P1 in the short, 15-minute warmup session, rattling off a hot lap of 88.5229 seconds.
The warmup was the drivers’ first chance to attack the freshly ground Sambadromo straightaway after overnight repairs to the concrete stretch. The Sambadromo wreaked havoc on cars during yesterday’s three practice sessions as drivers were unable to find grip on the slick surface and often spun out by themselves and into the walls. So far, things appear okay there save for a sizable kick-up of grey dust left over by the grinding.
Dreyer and Reinbold Racing’s Mike Conway went P2 in the warmup (89.0309) in the No. 24 Dad’s Root Beer/Roll Coater entry. Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports’ Raphael Matos (No. 2 HP entry) was third (89.0901), followed by DRR’s Justin Wilson (No. 22 Z-Line Designs entry; 89.1027) and a surging Simona de Silvestro (No. 78 HVM/Stargate Worlds entry; 89.3754) to round out the top five.
Qualifying is set to begin in less than ten minutes at 7:45 a.m. ET.
