Rahal team dominates IndyCar night testing at Phoenix

Despite this being the squad’s first test on a short oval with the 2018 aerokit-equipped car, Rahal and Sato were the only drivers to top 189mph lap averages, lapping the 1.022-mile course in 19.4574 and 19.4600sec respectively.

"We're good and Takuma is right behind us," Rahal said afterward. "And frankly, that lap wasn't anywhere near what the potential was. We were on a [19.30-second lap], but I caught traffic.

"The car has pace. Both cars have pace, and so that's awesome. We haven't had a lot of luck here the last few years. We're used to coming here and getting our butts kicked. To be able to come here and be competitive with this aero kit is awesome."

Added Sato: "I was happy to get back behind the wheel," Sato said. "This is our first oval test with the team. It wasn't flawless because we had some electrical issues again, but the engineers deal with it very well. Once we get going, I think we were very comfortable."

RLLR beat the Team Penske-Chevrolets of Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden while Tony Kanaan continued AJ Foyt Racing-Chevy’s strong form with fifth.

Kanaan’s teammate Matheus Leist had the only notable incident of the session with a quick spin – but avoiding contact with anything solid – when he came off the throttle too abruptly as Kanaan pulled out of the pitlane. He nonetheless finished the session in 10^th and top rookie.

Three of the Andretti Autosport-Hondas made the top 10, with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Alexander Rossi in sixth, seventh and ninth respectively, while four-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon put Chip Ganassi Racing into eighth.

Will Power was 11^th in the third Penske ahead of the quicker of the two Dale Coyne Racing-Hondas, driven by Sebastien Bourdais, although his best effort of the day was from the afternoon session.

Robert Wickens was 14^th for Schmidt Peterson Motorsport-Honda, just behind Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot.

James Hinchcliffe had electrical trouble today which kept him off track for a long period but salvaged 17^th in the second SPM car.

Carlin Racing-Chevy picked up speed from the afternoon session, Charlie Kimball and Max Chilton completing 39 and 78 laps respectively, finishing up in 15^th and 18^th respectively.

Gabby Chaves’ Harding Racing-Chevy was last, but less than 0.9sec from Rahal’s pacesetting lap.