Brabham begins Aussie Indy 500 journey

Matt Brabham's journey to this month's Indianapolis 500 as part of an Australian-backed team has begun in earnest.

The grandson of three-time Formula One world champion Sir Jack Brabham got his first taste of the iconic venue on Friday morning (AEST) in practice for this weekend's Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

Brabham got behind the wheel of the Pirtek Team Murray entry for the opening day of practice for the 82-lap race, which is held on the road course facility at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The event is the only one the Australian team will compete in before the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 29.

After losing a wheel in the opening practice run, Brabham then ran into brake problems in the second session but ended the day with a fastest lap which put the 22-year-old just 1.1 seconds off the pace of the fastest driver on track.

Brabham said the way the day ended had been encouraging.

"It was one of those days where we were working through a lot of things on a brand new car and finding the refining points," he said.

"The guys have done a good job of bringing everything together and pushing it on.

"I'm getting more comfortable with every lap. I would consider it has been a good day but it could have been better. In reality, we aren't that far off."

Brabham will get a further practice run before qualifying starts on Saturday morning (AEST) with the 82-lap race to start on Sunday morning (0550 AEST).