Indy 500 qualifying delayed by storms

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Fernando Alonso will have to wait a little bit longer before he can make his attempt to qualify for the 101st running of the Indy 500.

Storms moved into the area around Indianapolis Motor Speedway just minutes before qualifying was due to start at 11am local time. Storms also caused a two and a half delay on Friday.

Spectators were told to move to a place of safety as lightning was visible in the skies close to the two-and-a-half mile oval. The rain started to fall shortly afterwards.

Even once the storms have passed, there will have to be a process of thoroughly drying the track before qualifying can get underway. IndyCars cannot race on ovals in wet conditions.

Indy 500 rules guarantee all drivers get least one qualifying run on Saturday. Each car completes four solo laps, with the total time setting the driver's qualifying position.

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The order cars go out is set by random draw, with McLaren's Fernando Alonso set to go out in the middle of the order. The session was originally scheduled to last for seven hours, concluding at 5.50pm local time.

It's not clear when the session may be restarted. Rain radar shows a heavy deluge heading toward IMS. Forecasters have warned of flash flooding in the area. Even once the main weather system has passed through there is the likelihood of sporadic showers during the afternoon.

Saturday's session determines who starts on the front three rows, and who starts further back. However the exact order within those groups isn't set until Sunday.

Morning practice Saturday had been delayed by ten minutes because of overcast skies and misting conditions. Only six drivers took part, with Alonso not among them.

The fastest time was set by Harding Racing's Gabby Chaves, whose best lap clocked in at 39.4460s (228.160mph). A total of 51 laps were recorded during the session.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.