LEXINGTON — The drivers may steal the spotlight but the real star of the show is Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The Verizon IndyCar Series jump-started its visit to the rolling farmland of northeastern Morrow County on Friday with two practice sessions for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. The 2.25-mile, 13-turn layout carved into the undulating, wooded countryside is a favorite among the circuit’s brightest stars.
“It’s a fun place,” said Sebastian Bourdais, driver of the No. 11 Mistic KVSH Racing Chevrolet. “It’s a very challenging track and balance is always the key. … It’s a track that’s very unforgiving and you have to get it right and when you do, it’s a lot of fun.”
Bourdais had the fastest time in Friday’s afternoon practice session, turning a lap of 1 minute, 6.8721 seconds for an average speed of 121.639 miles per hour. Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, who won the pole for last year’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, had the top time in the morning session (1:06.5316, 122.18 mph).
“It was a good start to the day …,” Hunter-Reay said. “Because of the stoppages in the second session, we never got moving the way we wanted to.”
The afternoon session was marred by a pair of red flags. The first came when Simon Pagenaud went off course in Turn 3 and the second came late in the 45-minute practice session when rookie Carlos Huertas spun in Turn 12.
“(Mid-Ohio) always reminds me of a British country’s race course … for example Oulton Park,” said Takuma Sato, who had the fifth fastest time in Friday’s early session. “Very narrow, good elevation changes, high-speed and lots of greens with dense forest. It’s a classic.”
Mid-Ohio has been especially friendly to Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who has won here four times since 2007. A member of the Chip Ganassi Racing team has won the past five Mid-Ohio races, including surprise winner Charlie Kimball last year.
“It’s good for the team (to come to a place where it has been dominant),” Dixon said. “The team has had good finishes here for many years. … It’s definitely a good streak and gives us a good baseline setup.
“It’s a fun place with the family atmosphere and old-school American tracks are a lot of fun, especially in these cars.”
Dixon was displeased with the sloppiness of Friday’s afternoon session.
“The second practice was pretty much a waste of time with all the reds (flags),” he said. “We only got one or two laps at speed. We only got one or two laps at speed. … Hopefully (today) goes a little bit smoother.”
Mid-Ohio is notorious for its constantly changing track conditions — from day to day and even from the start of a race to the finish. The course gets grippier as cars lay down rubber from their tires.
“Mid-Ohio is kind of a strange track … you have to readjust to the track in every session and you aren’t sure what changes to make because the track is still improving every lap,” said rookie Carlos Munoz, who had the second fastest time in the afternoon practice. “Now we have to think about (today’s practice and qualifying) and see what the weather does. If it rains tonight, the track is going to be completely different again tomorrow.”
Notes: The Verizon IndyCar Series isn’t the only circuit in action this weekend at Mid-Ohio. In fact, the IndyCar Series’ entire minor league system is in town too. Indy Lights, Pro Mazda Championship, USF 2000 National Championship and Pirelli World Challenge races dot the weekend schedule.
The first two races were held Friday. In the first of three USF 2000 races scheduled for this weekend, 17-year-old RC Enerson dodged raindrops long enough to take the checkered flag, his fourth win of the season. Florian Latorre was second and Peter Portante was third.
“The race was really good for us,” Enerson said. “We knew we had to get a good start to be here because it can be a little difficult to pass here.
“I took the lead on the start and held and then the rain came and that made for difficult conditions. Running a rain line with slick tires was awkward, but I was able to hold it out to the end.”
In the Pirelli World Challenge, Michael DiMeo won the Touring Car class, while Jason Wolfe from nearby Mount Vernon took the checkers in the Touring Car A class. Tyler Palmer won the Touring Car B class.
Wolfe is a driving instructor at the Mid-Ohio School and took advantage of his knowledge of the course.
“As an instructor I have a lot of track experience here,” he said, “so I know the line pretty well.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
