Rain washed out practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the second straight day on Thursday, setting up a hectic day on Friday ahead of Saturday's Indianapolis 500 Pole Day qualifying.

IndyCar officials decided less than two hours after the scheduled start of practice that the hard, steady rain and cold temperatures would prohibit activity on the 2.5-mile oval.

Two of the drivers most affected by the rainout are Conquest Racing's, Jaime Camara and Enrique Bernoldi, both from Brazil.

Camara, the only driver to hit the wall at Indy this month when he crashed during Monday's final day of the Rookie Orientation Program, was scheduled to return to the track on Wednesday after his car was rebuilt. Thursday's rain presented a double dose of adversity for the new driver.

"It's really too bad that it rained again today," Camara said. "Yesterday didn't bother me too much, but I was really looking forward to getting back into the car today to continue our preparation for qualifying this weekend. It sets us back on track time, but it's the same for everybody."

The next practice session is billed as "Fast Friday" as teams use that day as a chance to cap a week of practice in preparation for Saturday's qualifying, when only the top 11 starting spots will be field on the 33-car grid for the 25 May race.

Buddy Rice won the 2004 Indy 500 in a race cut short by 20 laps because of rain and said rain and Indianapolis are sure to mix in May.

"I don't think it would be Indy if you didn't have weather," Rice said. "I think that's what makes this place so unique — you never know what you're going to get. This track - its layout, the rules, the atmosphere — everything is unique.

"It wouldn't be the month of May if we didn't have some down time due to weather."

AFP