Despite an off on the last corner that produced one of three red flags in the middle of the session, Spanish runner-up Palou led the field with a 58.782 s lap on the soft, red-walled Firestone tires, 0.102 s faster than Castroneves.
The Brazilian veteran, who only made his fourth season appearance for Meyer Shank Racing with MSR before his full-time return to the series next year, was just 0.004 seconds ahead of retiring teammate Jack Harvey in the only track time before he later qualified today .
World Championship leader Patricio O’Ward was fourth for Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet, 0.110 seconds behind Palou’s performance, while double series champion Josef Newgarden was the best of the Penske squad in fifth.
Ex-Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean was the best rookie in sixth place with his Dale Coyne Racing with RWR machine and overtook the 2019 Portland winner, Will Power, who set his fastest time on the primary tires with a hard compound and was seventh fastest became.
Andretti Autosport team mates Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta as well as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Graham Rahal completed the top 10 and pushed the reigning champion Scott Dixon (Ganassi) to P11.
Team Penske rookie Scott McLaughlin suffered a red flag slip on the final corner late in the session, but he finished the session in 12th place, while Carlin’s Max Chilton was the other driver to stop the session with a spin.
Callum Ilott, Juncos Racing
Photo by: James Black
On his first start for the RLL team, 2019 Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew, Oliver Askew, 16.
RLL teammate Takuma Sato had a problem with his Honda engine on his third lap that prevented the two-time Indy 500 winner from doing a representative lap.
NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson was a very impressive 20th fastest on his first visit to Portland, finishing just 0.673 seconds ahead of teammate Palou’s benchmark time, beating IndyCar debutant Callum Ilott.
The Ferrari F1 test driver finished 24th when his Juncos Hollinger team returned to IndyCar competition for the first time since the 2019 Indy 500.
Ilott’s best performance was 1.135 seconds off Palou’s pace, but the Brit didn’t set any time on the “red” grounds at Firestone.
Training continues after qualifying with an additional 90-minute session.
