MOTEGI, Japan,– Three drivers, representing the past four race winners at Twin Ring Motegi, were stashed in the top five of the speed chart as preparations began for the Indy Japan 300.
With a forecast of rain that could wash out final practice and qualifications for the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award on April 18, the focus during two sessions of practice was on race setup.
Reigning champion Tony Kanaan grabbed the top spot with a quick lap of 27.2453 seconds (200.842 mph) in the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven car for Andretti Green Racing. Dixon had a quick lap of 200.390 mph (27.3067) in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, while two-time Motegi winner Dan Wheldon (200.250; 27.3259) was third.
Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves, the pole sitter last year and points leader coming into the 200-lap race, was fourth (200.032; 27.3556) and Vision Racing’s Ed Carpenter (199.737; 27.3960) was fifth.
POST-PRACTICE NOTES:
Buddy Rice and his wife Michelle welcomed their first child, a daughter named Mina, on April 9.
BUDDY RICE: (No. 15 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “I was only home for two or three days (of fatherhood), then it was time to get to Japan and the racetrack. It’s been good. It’s exciting and fun, but there’s a big learning curve (to being a dad). We’ll see how it is after I get back. I’m home for a few days before Kansas, but then I’ll be gone for most of May to do Indy.”
Ryan Hunter-Reay is racing at Twin Ring Motegi, while his girlfriend Beccy Gordon is competing in the Celebrity Race at the Long Beach Grand Prix in the U.S. Gordon, a off-road racing veteran, is making her first pavement start in the event.
RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing Team Ethanol Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “Yeah it’s pretty neat that we’re both racing on the same weekend. I just wish we were racing at the same track.”
Jimmy Vasser won the pole position for Target Chip Ganassi Racing when CART debuted at Twin Ring Motegi in 1998. Now co-owner of KV Racing Technology in the IndyCar Series, Vasser will again be behind the wheel in the Champ Car finale at Long Beach, Calif., this weekend.
Emu Australia has signed on as a sponsor of the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car driven by Townsend Bell.
The partial-season entry will see Emu Australia as the primary sponsor for potentially two races Milwaukee, and pending a final schedule from the IndyCar Series, Australia. William Rast is the primary sponsor for the other events.
“This is all great news,” Bell said of the footwear company. “I can’t be any more pleased with the enthusiasm I’ve received from friends and colleagues wanting to be a part of my IndyCar Series return. Emu Australia is another company that sees the value that the new, unified IndyCar Series brings to the table.”
Bell, who competed at Twin Ring Motegi in 2002 in CART, will make his first start at the track in the IndyCar Series. Bell made his debut with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at St. Petersburg.
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