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Fansided

Sebastien Bourdais Tops Fifth Indianapolis 500 Practice Session

By Asher Fair

May 19, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais drives across the yard of bricks during practice for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
May 19, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais drives across the yard of bricks during practice for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 19, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais drives across the yard of bricks during practice for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
May 19, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais drives across the yard of bricks during practice for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season is in its sixth race with the Indianapolis 500. Who looks solid after the fifth practice session?

Dale Coyne Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais topped the fifth practice session for the Indianapolis 500 with a top lap speed of 233.116 miles per hour (38.607 seconds) around the 4-turn, 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana.

With the top speed of the month thus far, Bourdais became the third Honda driver to top the speed chart in a practice session for the race. Honda drivers made up the top 4, 11 of the top 12, and 13 of the top 15 spots on the speed chart in this session.The fastest Chevrolet driver in the practice session was Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished 5th fastest on the speed chart. The fastest non-Team Penske Chevrolet driver was two-time Indy 500 polesitter Ed Carpenter, who was 17th fastest in this session.
With the top speed of the month thus far, Bourdais became the third Honda driver to top the speed chart in a practice session for the race. Honda drivers made up the top 4, 11 of the top 12, and 13 of the top 15 spots on the speed chart in this session.The fastest Chevrolet driver in the practice session was Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished 5th fastest on the speed chart. The fastest non-Team Penske Chevrolet driver was two-time Indy 500 polesitter Ed Carpenter, who was 17th fastest in this session. /

All but three drivers topped the previous top speed of the month (226.744 miles per hour), and 22 drivers topped 230.000 miles per hour lap averages.

Here is the full finishing order of the fifth practice session. See lap speeds and times and other technical information about today’s practice session here.

Note: (R) denotes an Indianapolis 500 rookie.

  1. Sebastien Bourdais, #18, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda
  2. Ryan Hunter-Reay, #28, Andretti Autosport, Honda
  3. Takuma Sato, #26, Andretti Autosport, Honda
  4. Fernando Alonso (R), #29, Andretti Autosport, Honda
  5. Juan Pablo Montoya, #22, Team Penske, Chevrolet
  6. James Hinchcliffe, #5, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda
  7. Mikhail Aleshin, #7, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda
  8. Jay Howard, #77, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda
  9. Ed Jones (R), #19, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda
  10. Alexander Rossi, #98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda
  11. Tony Kanaan, #10, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
  12. Scott Dixon, #9, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
  13. Helio Castroneves, #3, Team Penske, Chevrolet
  14. Oriol Servia, #16, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
  15. Marco Andretti, #27, Andretti Autosport, Honda
  16. Will Power, #12, Team Penske, Chevrolet
  17. Ed Carpenter, #20, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
  18. Max Chilton, #8, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
  19. JR Hildebrand, #21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
  20. Charlie Kimball, #83, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
  21. Pippa Mann, #63, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda
  22. Graham Rahal, #15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
  23. Simon Pagenaud, #1, Team Penske, Chevrolet
  24. Josef Newgarden, #2, Team Penske, Chevrolet
  25. Jack Harvey (R), #50, Andretti Autosport, Honda
  26. Sage Karam, #24, Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, Chevrolet
  27. Carlos Munoz, #14, AJ Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
  28. Conor Daly, #4, AJ Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
  29. Gabby Chaves, #88, Harding Racing, Chevrolet
  30. Zach Veach (R), #40, AJ Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
  31. Sebastian Saavedra, #17, Juncos Racing, Chevrolet
  32. Spencer Pigot, #11, Juncos Racing, Chevrolet
  33. Buddy Lazier, #44, Lazier Partners Racing, Chevrolet

Schedule

The next practice session for the race is scheduled to take place tomorrow, Saturday, May 20th, 2017. It is set to last from 8:00 AM ET to 9:30 AM ET. Qualifying for the race will take place later tomorrow and Sunday, May 21st, 2017 and is set to last from 11:00 AM ET to 5:50 PM ET tomorrow and 2:45 PM ET to 5:45 PM ET on Sunday. The race is scheduled for Sunday, May 28th, 2017 at 12:19 PM ET. For a full pre-race and race schedule, click here.

NEXT: Indy 500 Driver Rankings

Could Sebastien Bourdais be a legitimate contender for the Indy 500 victory? Is Honda really that much better than Chevrolet? What is wrong with Team Penske? Be sure to follow me on Instagram as well as Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Also, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions, and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.