McLaren ace O’Ward leads Indy 500 Practice 3

The Arrow McLaren driver recorded a best lap of 227.308 mph in the six-hour session, with teams continuing to focus on both qualifying simulations and race set-ups ahead of a crucial stretch of the build-up to qualifying weekend.

Helio Castroneves once again featured near the sharp end of the timing sheets, placing second fastest at 226.977 mph in the Meyer Shank Racing entry.

He was closely followed by teammates Marcus Armstrong and Felix Rosenqvist.

Alexander Rossi put together one of his more competitive sessions of the month so far, climbing to fifth after Ed Carpenter Racing completed an overnight engine change on his #20 Chevrolet.

Behind him, Sting Ray Robb delivered a solid run to take sixth for Juncos Hollinger Racing, with rookie Caio Collet continuing his strong oval adaptation in seventh.

Romain Grosjean, Scott Dixon and Ed Carpenter rounded out the top 10 positions, while Aussie Will Power finished the session in 21st.

O’Ward, who has twice finished runner-up in the Indy 500, said he continued to enjoy the rhythm of the month-long event as attention gradually built toward qualifying.

“I like love the whole month, the practice days going into qualifying. The whole thing of qualifying on its own weekend, I love that,” O’Ward said.

“I really enjoy watching as well, and it’s cool to see the big runs, big numbers and then going out there yourself and trying to beat that.”

While headline speeds drew attention once again, the no-tow running provided a separate reference point for outright pace.

Takuma Sato led that classification, producing a 223.828 mph lap for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as he continued to show strong speed in clean-air conditions.

Scott McLaughlin was among the closest challengers in the no-tow order, with the Team Penske driver’s best effort placing him just ahead of David Malukas, who also featured strongly in the same running group.

McLaughlin said his car continued to feel competitive in both race and qualifying trim as teams prepare to increase turbo boost levels.

“Solid day today in qualifying (trim),” McLaughlin said.

“Overall, the Pennzoil Chevy feels pretty strong in race, and now qualifying trim. Always a nervous sort of energy before you drop it in qual trim. We’ll find out again tomorrow when we turn up the boost.

“Overall the Chevy power feels good and the car feels in a nice spot. We’ll see what we have come tomorrow.”

Cars return to the Brickyard for Fast Friday at 12pm local time (2am AEST).

Results: 110th Indianapolis 500, Practice 3