For this year’s Grand Prix of Baltimore, the decision was made to remove a front-stretch chicane that was on the Inner Harbor circuit last year to slow drivers down as they crossed over light rail tracks.
Those light rail tracks have been paved over now, but the resulting bump at that point on the course caused some trouble in this morning’s opening practice when Simon Pagenaud got airborne by several feet before coming back down. The resulting screen capture of the incident is worth a look (credit goes to RACER Magazine’s Tony Dizinno for the shot).
No other major problems occurred for the rest of the session, which was shortened in order for INDYCAR to collect driver feedback. Reports are coming in that INDYCAR drivers will meet with chief steward Beaux Barfield and series management to discuss the situation and, presumably, potential options for altering the track. The IndyCars are slated to return to the track for their afternoon practice later today at 2:45 pm ET.
Marco Andretti led the morning session on the time charts with a lap of 81.02 seconds.
