Rahal 5th, Lundgaard 11th and Fittipaldi 27th in Practice 1 for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto – Streets around Exhibition Place
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
PRACTICE NOTES / QUOTES – Friday, July 19, 2024

RAHAL, LUNDGAARD AND FITTIPALDI EXPERIENCE THE HYBRID SYSTEM FOR THE FIRST TIME ON A STREET COURSE IN PRACTICE 1 FOR THE ONTARIO HONDA DEALERS INDY TORONTO

1st:       Colton Herta                 1:01.0399 / 105.334 mph
5th:      Graham Rahal               1:02.0162 / 103.676 mph
11th:     Christian Lundgaard      1:02.3440 / 103.131 mph
27th:     Pietro Fittipaldi              1:04.0592 / 100.370 mph

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Compared to the fast guys, our pace is a little off compared to people like Colton but we’ve got pace. I’m struggling getting used to the hybrid here, getting used to the mass, and getting used to the regeneration side and the way that it affects the car. This is the most effect I have seen of the ill effects of the weight and the regeneration side so we have some work to do there. Hopefully we can try some things in the morning session and see what we can get. So we’ll see how tomorrow goes.”

• FAST FACTS: This will be Graham Rahal’s 17th Indy car race here and 18th overall (Atlantic 2006) here. In 16 Indy car races, his best start of second came in 2017 with RLL and best finish of fourth came in 2022. He has three, top-five starts and seven, top-10 finishes. Last year, wet conditions in qualifying led to contact and derailed the top starting spot Rahal was on target for according to computer data, but he started 27th after losing his two fastest laps as a penalty for bringing out the red flag after hitting the wall. In the race, he avoided an opening lap crash and drove through a runoff area to avoid an impassable track to catch up to the field. Persistence paid off and he climbed to a ninth-place finish… Has SIX IndyCar Series wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2) and FIVE poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street; IMS (road) 2023 August, Portland (road) 2023) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He has a total of 177 points and is ranked 16th overall.

PIETRO FITTIPALDI, 30 HUB International Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We had a misfire that limited our track time unfortunately. And at the end in our 10-minute (split group) session, nobody ran any laps because there were two consecutive red flags so that was disappointing because I need the laps to learn the track so we’re going to have to do that tomorrow. On the positive side, the HUB International car looks amazing on track.”

• FAST FACTS: This will be his first race here. His grandfather, Emerson Fittipaldi, won the race in 1987 and earned two, second-place finishes (1989, 1993) and a third (1994) and his while Christian Fittipaldi, son of Pietro’s grand uncle Wilson Fittipaldi, finished third in 1999 and 2002 here. He is looking to put his recent simulator experience on the track into practical knowledge beginning Friday afternoon. He is ranked 20th in series point standings with 124.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, No. 45 Hy-Vee Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We are better than the timesheets look. We seem to be in a position where the track will come to us, which is the same situation as last year. Practice 1 can feel rough in that way because the track condition isn’t as good as we anticipated it being. I know that the track will be better for us tomorrow, so I don’t think there is any reason to panic at this point. Tomorrow will be a lot more exciting for us, and we will all come together and understand today. I think the hybrid works as expected so that’s also a positive.”

• FAST FACTS: Returns as the defending winner after having earned his first INDYCAR victory with an almost 12-second margin of victory after leading 54 of 85 laps from his second series pole. In 2022, he started 10th and climbed as high as fifth before his first of two stops on Lap 17. He made his second stop with the majority of the field during the second of four caution periods on Lap 47 and returned to the track 12th. He gained more positions when a few drivers made their final stop and others made contact. He took the checkered flag in eighth place for his highest career INDYCAR finish to date at that point. Will be his third race here… He is in 13th place in series standings with 203.

RLL AT TORONTO: The 2024 Honda Indy Toronto will mark the 24th year of Indy car racing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) here. The team also competed in the Atlantic Series races here in 2003 and 2004. The team won in 2023 with Christian Lundgaard, earned four second place finishes (Rahal 1992, 1994, 1995; Michel Jourdain Jr. 2003), and finished third in 1996 (B. Rahal). In total, the team has earned SIX podiums (3rd – Rahal 1996), 11 top-five’s and 22 top-10 finishes at the track. RLL’s best start is pole in 1992 by Bobby Rahal and 2023 by Christian Lundgaard.

NEXT UP: Practice 2 will take place tomorrow from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. ET and qualifying will be 2:45 – 4:15 p.m. ET. Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com and includes commentary by the INDYCAR Radio Network. The 85-lap Honda Indy Toronto will be streamed live on Peacock beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday, July 21.