INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson had his first brush with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway wall in an Indy car on Thursday.
Driving the Arrow McLaren No. 17 on the second day of an open test in preparation for the May 25 Indianapolis 500, Larson contacted the turn-one wall and scraped off speed through the short chute before again contacting the turn-two wall.
Larson, who was optimistic leading into the second day of the test, climbed from his car and was observed and released from the infield care center.
“Starting my qualifying laps there, I got really tight through turn one, just a bunch of understeer off of turn one,” Larson explained after his first Indy car crash. “I kind of fought the understeer yesterday and it carried over to today. Honestly, I am happy to crash my first Indy car and live through it. We’ll work on it and try to get the balance more comfortable.
“I didn’t think I had the feeling I needed yesterday and it carried over to today. When you are going faster it really stood out. Bummer, but encouraging that it didn’t feel anything than what I expected.”
The track had barely gone back to green-flag conditions when Takuma Sato had heavy contact with the turn-one wall in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan No. 75.
The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner had turned the quickest lap of the day up to the point of the crash.
Sato walked to the ambulance under his own power and was later released from the care center.
“I lost it; I simply lost it,” Sato said. “It’s hard. My body is fine. It’s just the car … I lost the car. That’s heartbreaking.”
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