Having raced on nearby Belle Isle Island from 1992, Penske Entertainment Corp decided to revive the downtown circuit for its IndyCar event with a new 1.7-mile, nine-turn layout in the shadow of the General Motors Renaissance Centre.
It utilises some sections of the 2.5-mile track used by Formula 1 between 1982 and 1988, and teams and drivers got their first taste of the circuit in a 90-minute session on Friday afternoon headed by Pato O'Ward.
The bumps on Jefferson Avenue’s 0.7-mile, 180mph straight caused bottoming and braking instability issues into Turn 3 as well as the opening corner.
The session was red-flagged six times for cars overshooting turns and stalling, while Agustin Canapino damaged his Juncos Hollinger Racing car by clipping the wall on both sides of Turn 7.
“It was honestly less carnage than I expected,” said Kirkwood, who crashed dramatically out of last weekend's Indianapolis 500.
“A lot of people went off in the runoffs, but no one actually hit the wall, I don't think, which actually surprised me. Hats off to them for keeping it clean, including myself.
“It was pretty good. It was quite a bit less grip than I think everyone expected.
“Maybe a little bit more bumpy down into Turn 3 than everyone expected. But overall they did a good job.”
When asked to elaborate on how bumpy it was compared to other street tracks, Kirkwood said: “It's not as bad as coming off the bridge at like Nashville, for instance. It's very, very bumpy throughout all the corners.
Source: Autosport