Practice 1: Da Matta leads the way

CART championship leader Cristiano da Matta set the pace in the 90-minute practice session in his Lola-Toyota to edge his countryman Bruno Junqueira. Da Matta's 1m20.593s lap was almost 10 seconds slower than Juan Pablo Montoya's Canadian Grand Prix pole lap of 1m12.836s set in June, but it was already quicker than the Newman/Haas team's computer simulations had suggested.

Oriol Servia sprung a surprise by vaulting to third on his final lap at 1m21.012s, while Tora Takagi completed a 1-2-3-4 sweep for Toyota in his Walker Reynard. Hometown hero Patrick Carpentier was fifth fastest in his Player's Reynard-Ford in a clean session marred by only two red flags. Paul Tracy spun at the chicane on his first hot lap, while Takagi tapped the wall in the back region of the circuit, causing minor damage to his car.

Friday's qualifying session will be the first run under CART's revised road course qualifying rules, with a short practice to be followed by 35 minutes of green flag time. The session could be vital because scattered rain showers have been forecasted in Montreal for Saturday, though conditions are expected to be clear on race day.