The 43-year-old Australian, fresh off his victory at Road America last Sunday, accelerated to a quick lap of 161.681 mph across the revamped version of the historic one-mile oval.
Repeating last Sunday's results when Team Penske finished on the rostrum at nearby Road America, Power was followed by second and third team-mates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin, respectively.
Newgarden, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, clocked a speed of 160.759 miles per hour. Meanwhile, McLaughlin's set fast time was 260.639 mph.
Twenty drivers drove a complete of three,563 laps on the brand new pavement across the short oval, where a doubleheader will happen on August 31 and September 1 within the penultimate round of the 2024 IndyCar Series season. Each automotive was equipped with a brand new hybrid unit that’s to make its official debut within the race July 5-7 on the Central Ohio Sports Car Track.
The No. 26 Andretti Global Honda Colton Herta was fourth (160.137 mph), ahead of Pato O'Ward, who was fifth (259.993 mph) within the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Of note, the test also saw the return of David Malukas, who was recently confirmed to drive the #66 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing for the remainder of the yr after missing the primary seven points-awarding races with a wrist injury within the mountains. a pre-season cycling accident ultimately led to his dismissal by Arrow McLaren in late April.
Malukas, a 22-year-old Lithuanian-American, finished eighth with a speed of 159.253 miles per hour.
The gate on the skin of Turn 1 had trouble closing properly, which affected the primary hour of driving within the morning. The afternoon session, which included race simulation sequences with the sector divided into two groups, was also delayed by roughly 35 minutes because of light rain.
It was a fairly quiet day for me,” Newgarden said. “For most individuals, today seemed quiet.
“The system, actually because it was last launched, has been running quite easily. I just don't have too many problems with it. We've actually traveled a whole lot of kilometers. This seems to work rather well. Pretty solid.
“I don't think you possibly can say we won't have any problems. It's like with any latest part – if a brand new part appears, there’ll at all times be a risk that something will still have to be developed.
“I feel what we now have seen up up to now is that the system is sort of robust. I feel it's able to go in race conditions. Yes, I can't wait to see this latest chapter throughout the remainder of the yr. “
North America's premier open-wheel championship has not been held in Milwaukee since 2015. The only energetic drivers still within the series to win on the oval are Power (2014) and Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon (2009).
“It hasn't changed much,” Power said. “I feel these patches don't provide a whole lot of grip in the course of corners, which is admittedly good for passing. It's the identical track. It feels exactly prefer it did then.
“I did really well here. This was one of my favorite ovals. I was looking forward to coming here.”
Jay Frye, president of IndyCar, expressed his satisfaction with how the day went.
“This was another important milestone for the IndyCar hybrid powertrain,” Frye said.
“Chevrolet and Honda checked a lot of ground today, and none of it could have happened without the continued partnership and support of our drivers and teams. “Expectations are building and we can't wait for the era of hybrid vehicles to begin at the Central Ohio sports car track in a few weeks.”
Chip Ganassi Racing and Juncos Hollinger Racing didn’t participate within the test because several of their drivers had entered this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Drivers who didn’t test the hybrid in Milwaukee will get one other probability at a session later within the season.
