IndyCar: Colton Herta tops first Circuit of the Americas test session

Colton Herta topped the speed chart in the first of four IndyCar Spring Training test sessions at Circuit of the Americas.

Harding Steinbrenner Racing rookie Colton Herta topped the speed chart in the opening two-hour test session at Circuit of the Americas, the track that is scheduled to host the second race of the 17-race 2019 IndyCar season, the IndyCar Classic, on Sunday, March 24. This test session was the first of four IndyCar Spring Training test sessions at the track.

The 18-year-old Valencia, California native topped the speed chart in this test session by recording a top lap time of 108.7443 seconds (113.451 miles per hour) around the 20-turn, 3.427-mile (5.515-kilometer) Circuit of the Americas road course in Austin, Texas in his #88 Honda.

Herta led a 1-2 sweep of Honda drivers in this test session, and he led a 1-2 sweep of rookie drivers in this test session as well, as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports rookie Marcus Ericsson finished in second place in the session with a top lap time of 108.8392 seconds (113.353 miles per hour) around the track in his #7 Honda.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden was the highest finishing non-rookie and non-Honda driver of the test session. He finished in third place with a top lap time of 109.3531 seconds (112.820 miles per hour) around the track in his #2 Chevrolet.

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Carlin’s RC Enerson, who does not have a full-time ride lineup for this season, and Andretti Autosport’s Zach Veach rounded out the top five in this test session by finishing in fourth and fifth place in their #23 Chevrolet and #26 Honda, respectively.

Andretti Herta Autosport’s Marco Andretti, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot, Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi and Carlin’s Max Chilton rounded out the top 10 in this test session by finishing in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th place in their #98 Honda, #9 Honda, #21 Chevrolet, #27 Honda and #59 Chevrolet, respectively.

A total of 25 drivers turned at least one lap during this test session, and a total of 24 of these 25 drivers turned at least one lap at full speed, as Juncos Racing’s Kyle Kaiser failed to do so. The top lap times of these 24 drivers were all within 3.008 seconds (3.053 miles per hour) of one another.

Here are the full results of the first of four Spring Training test session at Circuit of the Americas.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Engine
1 – Colton Herta – #88, Harding Steinbrenner Racing, Honda
2 – Marcus Ericsson – #7, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda
3 – Josef Newgarden – #2, Team Penske, Chevrolet
4 – RC Enerson – #23, Carlin, Chevrolet
5 – Zach Veach – #26, Andretti Autosport, Honda
6 – Marco Andretti – #98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda
7 – Scott Dixon – #9, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
8 – Spencer Pigot – #21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
9 – Alexander Rossi – #27, Andretti Autosport, Honda
10 – Max Chilton – #59, Carlin, Chevrolet
11 – Matheus Leist – #4, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
12 – Felix Rosenqvist – #10, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
13 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – #28, Andretti Autosport, Honda
14 – Helio Castroneves – #3, Team Penske, Chevrolet
15 – Santino Ferrucci – #19, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda
16 – Will Power – #12, Team Penske, Chevrolet
17 – James Hinchcliffe – #5, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda
18 – Simon Pagenaud – #22, Team Penske, Chevrolet
19 – Graham Rahal – #15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
20 – Jack Harvey – #60, Meyer Shank Racing, Honda
21 – Sebastien Bourdais – #18, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda
22 – Takuma Sato – #30, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
23 – Ed Jones – #20, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
24 – Tony Kanaan – #14, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
25 – Kyle Kaiser – #32, Juncos Racing, Chevrolet

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The other three IndyCar Spring Training test sessions are scheduled to take place from 3:30 p.m. ET through 6:30 p.m. ET this afternoon and evening and then tomorrow from 11:00 p.m. ET through 1:00 p.m. ET and from 2:00 p.m. ET through 6:00 p.m. ET. Like today’s first test session, these other three test session are all set to be broadcast live on IndyCar’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. Be sure to tune in.