After tests held at Mid-Ohio and Road America, Indy will hold the first 75-minute free practice sessions at all street and mixed circuits until the end of the 2022 season
After tests conducted at the Elkhart Lake and Mid-Ohio GPs, Indy announced that it has officially increased the length of the first free practice session for races on mixed circuits and street circuits. From now on, there will be 75 minutes instead of the previous 45.
According to Racer magazine, the experiment yielded positive responses from the Indy paddock, especially with more laps led by drivers, as well as the possibility of keeping a good number of minutes in red flag interruptions.
"We're going to do that until the end of the year. It seems to be working, and if you look at the data, we had more laps completed doing this, which is good. Even for the rookies, who are usually the ones who come out of the pits the most in the first 15, 20 minutes. This is great. We still have cars on the track," commented Jay Frye, Indy President.
The only exception to the 75-minute free practice will be at Indianapolis GP 2, as Indy will have a more condensed event by sharing the circuit with NASCAR. A single 90-minute practice session will be held before qualifying on Friday.
Indy will hold the Toronto GP, in Canada, this Sunday (17). The race is scheduled to start at 4:30 pm (Brasília time).