Sato lapped the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in 38.3382s, a speed of 234.753mph, in his Honda-powered Chip Ganassi Racing car, ahead of Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport) and Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing).
Sato also topped the four-lap average speeds – which is how qualifying is decided – at 233.413mph set in the closing minutes of the session, ahead of CGR team-mate Marcus Ericsson and Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden.
Fast Friday means the BorgWarner turbos common to the Honda and Chevrolet engines were wound up from 1.3-bar boost to 1.5-bar, a level at which they’ll remain until the end of qualifying on Sunday evening. It meant a power boost of up to 100bhp over the previous running.
Weather conditions were bright and sunny, but a strong breeze pushed the cars hard into Turn 3 at over 240mph, although that meant a headwind towards Turn 1.
Kyle Kirkwood set the bar for Andretti Autosport with 232.649mph, going on to set a four-lap average of 231.739mph.
Pato O’Ward took over at the top for Arrow McLaren at 232.710mph but had to bail out on his qualifying run after a moment at Turn 3, after hitting over 243mph on the backstretch. Conor Daly just topped that with 232.723mph for Ed Carpenter Racing.
Sato then stole the show with a lap of 234.753mph before almost brushing the wall at Turn 2 and abandoning his qualifying sim. VeeKay and Felix Rosenqvist (McLaren) jumped to second and third around the same time, suggesting there was an aero benefit of having three fast cars on track together.
Source: Autosport