Practice Report: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. March 11 – The ABC Supply team got off to a good start on the opening day of practice for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

In the first session Jack Hawksworth topped the charts for most of the 75-minute practice session in the No. 41 ABC Supply Honda; he was only eclipsed in the final minutes by Simon Pagenaud. Hawksworth posted a time of 1 minute, 1.78 seconds with Pagenaud coming in at 1 minute, 1.72 seconds. Takuma Sato was just six hundredths of a second behind Hawksworth with a time of 1 minute, 1.84 seconds which was fourth quickest in the first session.

In the afternoon session, Sato clocked fifth fastest time in the closing minutes with a lap of 1 minute, 1.32 seconds while Hawksworth finished up in eighth after spending the first part of the session in the top two spots. Posting a lap-time of 1 minute, 1.38 second, Hawksworth explained , “I just didn’t get a lap in at the end—there was so much traffic. I think we have a very good car so I’m not worried.”

Overall, both drivers were pleased with the day’s effort.

“I’m glad to be back in St. Pete—it has a great atmosphere and the fans are so enthusiastic so I always enjoy this track,” Sato said. "This year we have a new package again and the car feels fast and is fun to drive. Looking from the outside, it is quite a competitive field—the pack is very tight. But we had a very good first day and hope to have an even stronger day tomorrow.”

Hawksworth, who won here in his debut in the Indy Lights Series in 2103 and in the Pro Mazda  Series in 2012, was also pleased with his car.

“The ABC car was really good all day,” said the 25-year-old Brit. “We did some good running in both practices so it was a very successful day for us. I think we’ll just rub it tonight and give it a bit of a tune but there’s not much work to do. I think we have a very good car.”

Will Power, who crashed in the first session, rebounded to top the second session. Second through fifth were Scott Dixon, Pagenaud, Graham Rahal and Sato.

There is one more practice tomorrow morning before the Firestone Fast Six qualifying rounds tomorrow afternoon.