Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports pilot Linus Lundqvist in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires paddock at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

By Steve Wittich

Linus Lundqvist, the 22-year-old Global Racing Group w/HMD pilot, led his career oval event’s lone 45-minute practice session at the World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway.

The Swede was joined in the top three by his Global Racing Group/HMD Motorsports teammates David Malukas and Benjamin Pedersen.

The top seven drivers were within 1.2 mph of leader Lundqvist.

With 15 of the 45-minutes complete, championship contender Malukas was the quickest of the 12 drivers.

Lundqvist, Malukas, Pedersen, Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Autosport), and Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport) all spent time at the top of the timing screens in a session that saw one yellow flag period for a track inspection.

Teams mounted fresh Cooper Tires for their drivers in the final five minutes of the practice, and the pilots all completed qualifying simulations.

On Thursday, the series completed a pair of 60-minute test sessions. DeFrancesco led the first session and his teammate Kirkwood led the second session and the combined timesheet.

The top level of the Road To Indy will be back on track for qualifying at 3 pm.

Qualifying for the twin-bill will consist of two laps. The first lap will set the grid for this evening’s race, while the second lap will set the grid for Saturday’s race.

Results of Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires practice #1

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM SPEED (mph) LAPS
1 26 Linus Lundqvist Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports 159.270 47
2 79 David Malukas HMD Motorsports 158.979 44
3 24 Benjamin Pedersen Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports 158.610 40
4 28 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Autosport 158.319 32
5 27 Robert Megennis Andretti Autosport 158.163 25
6 17 Devlin DeFrancesco Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport 158.091 26
7 68 Danial Frost Andretti Autosport 158.020 23
8 51 Toby Sowery Juncos Hollinger Racing 156.462 37
9 5 Alex Peroni Carlin 156.449 30
10 7 Christian Bogle Carlin 155.268 39
11 11 Antonio Serravalle Pserra Racing 154.454 42
12 2 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Hollinger Racing 153.859 25