Montoya sets Indy pace

Juan Pablo Montoya maintained his unbroken run at the top of the practice timing sheets at Indianapolis today.

The McLaren driver, who was fastest in both sessions yesterday, set the quickest time today in a curtailed session due to tyre worries.

Ralf Schumacher’s heavy accident yesterday, caused by a puncture, prompted Michelin to ask their teams to alter car set-ups amid fears of a repeat.

Only eight of the 20 drivers set a lap time today, with six of those running on Bridgestone. Montoya was one of only two Michelin runners to set a time and he ended the session on top after his lap of one minute 10.726 seconds.

World champion Michael Schumacher was second, over a second down, with Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello third.

David Coulthard, the other Michelin user to set a time, ended the session fourth as the Jordan pair of Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan rounded out the top six.

The remainder of the Michelin runners competed on a handful of installation laps after being asked to alter settings on their cars.

Ricardo Zonta left the pits for one warm-up lap just minutes after being announced as a replacement for Ralf Schumacher, who was advised not to race this weekend after his heavy impact yesterday.