IndyCar: Sebastien Bourdais tops first 2018 Portland practice

Dale Coyne Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais topped the speed chart in the opening practice session for the penultimate race of the 2018 IndyCar season, the Grand of Portland.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais got the penultimate race weekend of the 17-race 2018 IndyCar season going on a high note for himself, for Dale Coyne Racing and for Honda by topping the speed chart in the opening practice session for the Grand Prix of Portland.

Bourdais topped the speed chart in this practice session by recording a top lap time of 57.3975 seconds (123.371 miles per hour) around the 12-turn, 1.967-mile (3.166-kilometer) Portland International Raceway road course in Portland, Oregon in his #18 Honda.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who topped the speed chart in the second open test session at the track yesterday, finished right behind Bourdais in second place in his #9 Honda.

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Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden and Will Power were the highest finishing Chevrolet drivers of the practice session. They finished in third and fifth place in their #1 Chevrolet and #12 Chevrolet, respectively. Power topped the speed chart in the first open test session at the track yesterday.

Andretti Herta Autosport’s Marco Andretti was the other driver who finished the practice session in the top five. He finished in fourth place in his #98 Honda, building on the speed that he showed in both open test sessions at the track yesterday.

Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Jordan King was the fastest non-Team Penske Chevrolet driver of the practice session. He finished in sixth place in his #20 Chevrolet. Honda drivers took each of the six remaining positions in the top 12 from seventh through 12th.

Andretti Autosport teammates Alexander Rossi and Zach Veach finished the practice session in seventh and 10th place in their #27 Honda and #26 Honda, respectively. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Ed Jones rounded out the top nine in eighth and ninth in their #30 Honda and #10 Honda, respectively.

Meyer Shank Racing rookie Jack Harvey and Dale Coyne Racing rookie Santino Ferrucci rounded out the top 12 in the practice session in 11th and 12th place in their #60 Honda and #39 Honda, respectively.

Dale Coyne Racing rookie Pietro Fittipaldi, the driver of the #19 Honda, was the only driver set to drive in the race who did not participate in this practice session.

At 5:35 p.m. ET this evening, the second practice session for the race is scheduled to begin, and at 2:10 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon, the third and final practice session is scheduled to begin. Both of these sessions, like the first one was, are set to be broadcast live on IndyCar RaceControl, the IndyCar mobile app, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Tomorrow evening at 6:20 p.m. ET, qualifications for the race are scheduled to start, and they are set to be broadcast live on IndyCar RaceControl, the IndyCar mobile app, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as well. Just over an hour later at 7:30 p.m. ET tomorrow night, NBC Sports Network is set to re-air qualifications.

The race itself is scheduled to go green at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday. The live broadcast of it is set to begin on NBC Sports Network at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Here are the full results of the first practice session for the 2018 Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway.

Be sure not to miss either of the two remaining practice sessions or qualifications for the penultimate race of the 2018 IndyCar season, and be sure not to miss the Grand Prix of Portland itself.