Trulli hoping for strong weekend

The Japanese squad are hoping to shine at home following a series of disappointing results.

Toyota have not finished higher than sixth since the French Grand Prix, although they are bullish about their chances for this weekend.

"That was a difficult session because it was damp at the beginning and then dried out," said Trulli after posting the ninth fastest time in today's practice.

"Towards the end the track began to dry as the weather improved and we managed to do a few laps on dry tyres in the last few minutes but there is very little we can say about the session due to the conditions.

"Thanks to the rain this morning we only completed one installation lap in first practice. We had a new engine in the car today after our retirement in China and that looks like being a little step forward, hopefully it will help us.

"As this is the team's home race, we expect to put up a strong challenge and I hope today is the start of a good weekend."

Teammate Ralf Schumacher was also adamant that Toyota will shine at Suzuka after finishing as 11th quickest.

"The session went well, we had no real problems," said Schumacher. "Obviously due to the wet conditions at the start of the second practice session we had to wait before we could get a lap in.

"Early on the track was a bit damp but it got better and better as the sun came out. The car seems to be handling well but consistency was not really possible in the changing conditions.

"It is a bit difficult to know what tyre we should go for tomorrow as we have had so little time on a dry track but hopefully we will have a better idea of that after the practice session tomorrow. I think our home fans can expect a strong performance but we will have to wait and see exactly where we end up.

"I still think our car is capable of finishing on the podium in the right circumstances but we have to push hard and get all the elements in place."