Two-time Indy 500 winner Sato lapped the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in 39.4988s, a speed of 227.855mph.
In the final two hours of running before the Indy 500 race start, the track was filled with the 33 cars right from the green flag – although there were a couple of early yellows for track inspections.
Ahead of his final start in IndyCars, Tony Kaanan set the early pace for Arrow McLaren at 224.811mph straight out of the box, in perfect weather conditions and lighter winds than yesterday.
Alex Palou (Ganassi) produced 225.531mph to briefly snatch P1 before Romain Grosjean went to the top at 226.286mph for Andretti Autosport. Agustin Canapino raised the bar to 226.532mph in his Argentina-liveried Juncos Hollinger Racing, and then Scott Dixon beat that with 227.295mph.
Towards the end of the first hour, Fast Friday pacesetter Takuma Sato unleashed 227.855mph in race trim in the draft.
Dixon stayed second to make it a Ganassi 1-2, while Team Penske’s Will Power was third quickest at 226.953mph. Palou was fourth, ahead of Long Beach GP winner Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti), Canapino, Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta, Grosjean, Josef Newgarden (Penske) and his team-mate Scott McLaughlin.
Source: Autosport