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The Team Penske driver ended up fifth-quickest in the sole Friday session of Event 6 of the IndyCar Series, and was third at the conclusion of the opening, 45-minute segment when everyone had run on primary tyres only.
His total of 33 laps was about average but he also clocked up some extra mileage with a number of excursions into the tight street circuit’s run-off areas.
That was, if not necessarily planned, then certainly part of the process, according to McLaughlin.
“I learned how to flick-spin,” quipped the Kiwi.
“I did heaps of them; I kept going down the escape roads.
“But, that’s all part of it here; you risk in the points where you’ve got least risk with hurting the car.
“The Gallagher Chevy feels really good. Straight away, I felt like I was in a really good spot and it felt really strong so hopefully that carries on throughout the weekend.
“But, a really good first practice.”
“A lot of it’s the corners where you know you have the run-off,” he added.
“Might as well bring a yellow out now than later. That’s always my strategy on street circuits.”
McLaughlin’s 1:02.0959s, let alone the session benchmark of 1:01.7210s set by Alex Palou, was at least a full second faster than anyone went in either of the two practice sessions held in Detroit in 2023, the first event on the CBD circuit rather than Belle Isle.
Sections of the new track have been resurfaced and cars are still lighter than last year as they await the introduction of hybrid technology next month but the Penske pilot had a simple theory.
“Maybe we all know this track a bit better,” remarked McLaughlin.
“That for sure is probably a thing. Last year, first practice was our first time on track.
“After a year, everyone’s thought about different things, I think the cars are just better, they’re lighter, so it’s probably a case of that too.”
Practice 2 and Qualifying take place on Saturday (local time).
