ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- James Hinchcliffe was saying just the other day that what transpired in 2013 on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg temporary street circuit doesn't mean anything.
Still, the third-year Andretti Autosport driver was enthused following the first Verizon IndyCar Series practice session for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The Toronto native was quickest of the 22 drivers at 1 minute, 2.9326 seconds.
"That first session of the season is always something that everyone is excited about," said Hinchcliffe, the 2013 race winner. "It worked well for us, but it's still early. Hopefully that means we’re on the right track for the weekend. We get so little track time and need to use every lap of testing and practice you get, so you can lollygag too much."
Click it: Practice 1 results for Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Honda, with its new twin-turbo V6 engine, held the top three spots on the time sheet (Justin Wilson in the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing car was second at 1:02.9385 and Takuma Sato in the No. 14 ABC Supply car for A.J. Foyt Racing was third at 1:03.0603).
Will Power, the pole sitter each of the past four years in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, was fourth (1:03.1932) and St. Petersburg resident Sebastien Bourdais (1:03.1948) in the No. 11 Hydroxycut KVSH Racing car.
The top 18 cars were separated by less than a second. The field includes four drivers competing for the first time on the St. Pete circuit in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
The 2013 victory was the first of Hinchcliffe's Verizon IndyCar Series career; he won two more during the season.
"It’s good to start the 2014 season with a good session. It show we did our job over the offseason," Hinchcliffe added. "The guys have been working very hard and it’s a good way to kick off our relationship with Honda and United Fiber & Data. I think the biggest thing (as the defending race winner) is just added attention. Whether you crashed in Turn 1 or won the race, you come in with the same mindset and that’s to do the best that you can. I’d love to get another surfboard. It looks pretty good in the living room."