Dixon second, McLaughlin third in opening Indy 500 practice

Preparations for the Indy 500 has begun, and our Kiwi IndyCar duo is off to a flying start.

Scott Dixon was marginally pipped to the top spot by Graham Rahal in the opening practice session of the month.

The defending series champion lapped the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an average speed of 223.420mph.

Rahal set his best lap on his 18th and final tour, posting a 223.449mph lap to seal the fastest time.

Third place fell the way of Scott McLaughlin, the second New Zealander in the field.

McLaughlin is set to make his Indy 500 debut at the end of the month and already proved he is right on the pace with the leading pack.

His best lap had an average speed of 222.836mph, and he ended up as the fastest Chevrolet-powered car.

At one stage, McLaughlin was sitting as the fastest driver before both Dixon and Rahal improved in the final half an hour.

Two-time winner of the Indy 500 Juan Pablo-Montoya was fractionally slower than McLaughlin in the Arrow McLaren SP Chevy.

Of the two hours of scheduled running, 45 minutes were completed under caution due to light rain.

Only one driver can claim he went more than 30 laps, and that was Will Power, who ended up sixth on the leader boards.

One of the more unusual highlights from the day was when Max Chilton’s helmet air hose blew off and wrapped itself around his rear wing.

His Carlin then trekked back to the pitlane with his air hose dangling liberally behind him.