Practice 3: Junqueira quickest

Bruno Junqueira was the only driver to break the 1m9s second barrier, turning a lap of 1m09.898s to best Patrick Carpentier by 0.2s as the temporary track continues to gain speed and grip. Interlopers Alex Tagliani and Michel Jourdain ran third and fourth, with Newman/Haas' Sebastien Bourdais fifth and Champ Car championship leader (and overnight pole man) Paul Tracy sixth.

Tracy ran fewer laps in the 75-minute session than anyone bar Alex Yoong, whose Dale Coyne Racing Lola broke a halfshaft. The Canadian is guaranteed to start no worse than second in Sunday's race thanks to his Friday pole effort, so he may adopt a low-profile approach in final qualifying.

There was plenty of talk Friday about the potential impact of inclement weather, which had been forecast for the second half of the Long Beach weekend. But Saturday dawned clear and sunny and the threat of rain has been put off until late Sunday afternoon. The Long Beach Grand Prix has never been run in the wet throughout its 28-year history.

Darren Manning found his Walker Racing Reynard handling much better on Saturday and posted the seventh fastest time, 1.2s better than his Friday best. That was the biggest improvement in the 19-car field.