“We almost broke 220mph," Hamilton revealed, "The car is great, but a lot has changed from last year so, when we first got out there, it was a matter of getting comfortable and figuring things out again. We took a little downforce out of the car, and I started to feel it, so I think we'll have a good platform to go from in tomorrow's practice with [Vision Racing regulars] Ed [Carpenter] and AJ [Foyt IV].”
Lloyd was followed on the timesheets by Hideki Mutoh and Power, with Oriol Servia and Graham Rahal completing the top five.
“We definitely had good balance in the Aussie Vineyards–Team Australia car," Power reported, "We just wanted to go the next step and move into the next speed bracket. The KV Racing Technology team did a good job getting the car balanced, and we keep trimming it out so we can get to 225mph. That is the area we obviously need to be at in order to have any chance to qualify well on Saturday. I am very happy with how we picked up 2mph from yesterday. It's a step forward.”
While Power and those above him appeared happy with their lot, further down the order, things were not so rosy - especially for 15th-placed Jay Howard, who had to watch IPS successor Lloyd steal the limelight while he struggled.
“It's just not been a very good day for us," the Briton sighed, "It's pretty common knowledge in the paddock that a lot of people left Roth Racing last week, and we had no engineers as of yesterday. Fortunately for us, Larry Curry has come on board, but he has definitely had his hands full.
"It's been a real struggle for us today - hanging on for dear life and doing slow times is not what we came here to do. Hopefully, the guys can put everything right over the next couple of days. We may even sit out tomorrow just to make sure that everything is right. We're not going to try to be heroes and do anything stupid. So far this year, we have had an up-and-down season, but we have always managed to come away with something good from every day. This is our first day where it's not gone so great.”
A total of 27cars are currently at the Speedway, and 16 have passed the necessary technical inspection. Some 16 drivers have been on the track to date and turned 1316 laps this month, while a massive 96 IndyCar and Firestone Indy Lights drivers have passed physicals at the Clarian Medical Centre.
![IPS champion Alex Lloyd was fastest on day two of Indianapolis 500 practice [pic credit: IRL/Garrett]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/436304.jpg)
