Montoya gets excited over Suzuka

The Colombian finished half a second back from Jean Alesi's benchmark time after Friday's two practice sessions, but that was good enough for the second spot on the timesheets, and was almost a second faster than his Williams-BMW team mate Ralf Schumacher.

"The track is brilliant," enthused Montoya. "You really have got to drive it. It is one of those tracks where you have got to push into every corner, it is very exciting. It's quite tricky, you have to time it right and you can slide the car around. I do enjoy it."

Montoya, who grabbed his first Formula 1 victory a month ago at the Italian Grand Prix, earned praise from BMW motorsport boss Gerhard Berger, who was impressed how quickly Montoya was on the pace in Japan.

"Given that Juan Pablo is driving here on one of the most difficult F1 tracks for the first time, his lap times are impressive and underline his talent," said Berger. "If we don't have any technical problems tomorrow we should be fighting for the front two rows in qualifying."

Schumacher finished the day ninth fastest after his Williams-BMW machine experienced throttle-related electrical problems.