Yesterday was Fast Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway—the last practice day before qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. Honda’s engines thankfully work in this series, with four Hondas setting the four fastest times. Pippa Mann wasn’t in the top four, but she did set a new record: Indy’s fastest ever woman.
Fast Friday earns its name thanks to a bump in boost that cars keep through the end of qualifying, but not for the race itself, per Autoweek. Teams are allowed to add 10 kilopascals (kPa) more of turbocharger boost (140 kPa total) which gives the cars about 30 horsepower more.
That extra boost helped one woman set a record. Mann’s Fast Friday time of 230.103 mph in the No. 63 Dale Coyne Racing Honda makes her the first woman to break the 230 mph barrier around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, per TrackSide Online. Neat.
Four-time Champ Car champ and No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda driver Sébastien Bourdais had the fastest Fast Friday speed (and the fastest time of the week) with a 233.116 mph lap, which was helped a bit by drafting behind another car. The fastest lap speed achieved without any drafting was the No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda of Ryan Hunter-Reay: 231.273 mph, notes Autoweek.
For fans tuning in for a certain Formula One driver’s appearance, fret not, he went quick, too. Fernando Alonso’s No. 29 Andretti Autosport Honda was the fourth fastest driver of the day with a fastest lap speed of 231.827 mph. Yes, we’re saying there’s a chance.
You can view the full final Indianapolis 500 pre-qualifying practice day results here.