Mclaughlin laps up first serious session at Indy

Scott Mclaughlin has lapped up his first serious taste of the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway and is amping to race there.

The New Zealand driver logged 195 laps, the most of any driver, during the second day of official pre-season testing.

He finished 18th overall in best speed at 223.808mph (360kmh) but, interestingly, had the second best no-tow speed of 356kmh in his Pennzoil Chevy.

A stranger to oval racing, he also got some useful drafting experience with his Team Penske team-mates Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud.

It was a big step up from his previous experience there last year when he completed his rookie orientation programme as he eyed switching his career from Australia and New Zealand to the United States.

Mclaughlin, about to start his first full Indycar season, faces a busy period at Indy.

He will contest the Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in mid-may before two weeks of practice and qualifying at The Brickyard, leading up to the Indianapolis 500 on

May 30.

‘‘I love this place,’’ Mclaughlin told Racer of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. ‘‘I really liked practising at Texas and coming back here I thought it might be something similar, but nothing prepares you for this place. ‘‘The sensation of speed, hearing the wind, setting up for the corners and the way it funnels down going into turn one, I can’t imagine what it’s like when this joint is packed. ‘‘There’s no place like it, and I’m so excited to be part of it.’’ Defending Indycar champion Scott Dixon was fourth fastest at Indy testing with Newgarden,

Takuma Sato and Juan Pablo Montoya filling the top three.

Mclaughlin likened the concentration levels required at Indy to the endurance test of Bathurst where he has starred in the Australian Supercars championship.

‘‘It’s something similar to Bathurst because you don’t sleep on that place and, obviously, you don’t sleep on this place,’’ he said.

‘‘When I took my [rookie orientation programme] it was a calm day and the last two days the wind has been tricky.’’

The Indycar season starts this weekend with the Grand Prix of Alabama opening a 17-event series that runs until late September.

After dominating the Supercars championship in Australia, New Zealand driver Scott Mclaughlin is preparing to test his wits in the Indycar ranks in the United States.