Friday practice: Penskes to the fore

Helio Castroneves's Reynard-Honda edged the sister car of Champ Car points leader Gil de Ferran, with Castroneves the only driver to break into the sub-1m9s bracket. The Brazilian stopped the clocks with a 1m08.838s lap, averaging 117.040mph around the picturesque, but demanding mid-California track.

"I'm pushing very hard, trying to go as fast as I can to find the limit," said Castroneves. "Our car is really good - we did a fantastic time here in pre-season testing here in January. the car's great so let's go forward."

Temperatures hit the mid-80s in coastal California, leaving de Ferran to ponder the longevity of tyres overa longer run.

"The tyres are beginning to go away quite early in the run," he said. "I'm a little bit worried about that. It looks like it's going to be hot and sunny all weekend, so I think preserving the tyres will be very important on Sunday."

De Ferran's 1m09.345s edged Mauricio Gugelmin in a surprise third overall. Gugelmin has suffered a troubled season with PacWest, but his performance, along with rookie team mate Scott Dixon grabbing fifth, boded well for a good showing from the veteran.

"I don't think we found anything for this particular track," said Gugelmin. "I think in the last few races we've found some things that helped. It's very important to get a good balance at this place. We've got a good car for tomorrow and Sunday."

Fourth fastest - making four Brazilians in the top four - was Roberto Moreno's Patrick Racing entry, with newly-announced '02 Rahal driver Jimmy Vasser completing the top six behind Dixon.

Championship contender Kenny Brack suffered a troubled day, finishing outside the top 20 in his Team Rahal Lola-Ford, while title longshot Dario Franchitti was a disappointed 18th for Team Green.