Manning thwarted by the rain

11:59am Thursday 15th May 2008

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NORTH Yorkshire's Darren Manning completed only four laps on Wednesday as persistent drizzle allowed just one hour of practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Four laps are better than nothing," said Manning, preparing for the famous Indy 500. "Because we needed to shake the car down and see how the changes we'd done affected it. We know we're pretty fast, but we've just got to get the car a little bit more comfortable for me.

"We've been trying to work out over these last couple of days what we need to put on the car and we need as much time out there as we can get - even if it is for that short little time."

Driving the No. 14 ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing entry, Manning had a fast lap of 219.579mph, 15th among 23 drivers not yet qualified for the Indy 500.

"We're kind of learning all the time the direction to go to make us just a little bit better, so I think we're good for qualifying on Saturday," he said. "I think we made some good changes and we should be all right for going a bit more in the same direction and making it even better."

Fastest of the non-qualified drivers was John Andretti with a speed of 221.386 mph. Buddy Rice was second fastest at 220.277 mph and Enrique Bernoldi was third with a lap of 220.105.

Thirty cars were on the track in the abbreviated practice that was under an hour in duration and Scott Dixon, who has the pole position for the Indianapolis 500, had the fastest lap at 222.834 mph.

Practice continues until Friday.

Qualifications to fill positions 12 through 33 will be on Saturday and Bump Day is Sunday. The 92nd Indianapolis 500 will be on Sunday, May 25.