Laguna test: Da Matta sets early pace

The Brazilian lapped the hilly 2.238-mile circuit in 1m09.952s in his Newman/Haas Lola-Toyota to lead Tony Kanaan (Mo Nunn Reynard-Honda) by more than 0.3 second.

Patrick Carpentier improved to third late in the two and a half hour session in his Player's/Forsythe Reynard-Ford, while rookie Townsend Bell shook off a harmless spin to post the fourth best time at 1m10.446s in the Patrick Racing Reynard-Toyota.

At the other end of the spectrum, Dario Franchitti had engine trouble and never completed a flying lap in his Team Green Reynard-Honda.

Lap times so far are around two seconds slower than they were at the Laguna Seca race in October through a combination of a green track and lower turbo boost, resulting in a 50-horsepower drop from 2001. Ford-Cosworth technical director Bruce Wood says that discounting the boost change (from 37 to 34 inches), his company has found an additional 15 horsepower this year through changes to the XF engine's top end.

"Road course qualifying can be everything," Wood said. "We've achieved an increase of 500rpm in qualifying trim and the drivers who have tested that specification have been very complimentary. We've increased race revs by 250 but I suspect we'll still be turning fewer revs than our competitors. But that can translate into advantages in fuel economy and reliability."