Briscoe fastest in second practice
Penske took another one-two in the second IndyCar Series practice session at Motegi, this time with Ryan Briscoe leading the way
A year on from the pitlane error that cost Briscoe the 2009 title, he took first place from Tony Kanaan just before the half-hour mark with a 27.2382s lap that remained the benchmark for the rest of the extended 70-minute session.
Helio Castroneves later moved into second, 0.0387 seconds behind Briscoe, while their team-mate Will Power - who had topped morning practice - was sixth this time.
Kanaan ended up third ahead of his Andretti Autosport team-mate Danica Patrick.
KV Racing achieved a front row start at Motegi with Mario Moraes last year and showed good form this afternoon too as EJ Viso claimed fifth place.
Power's title rival Dario Franchitti (Ganassi) was right behind him in seventh, followed by Andretti's Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Panther's Dan Wheldon.
After his morning accident, which was due to a broken oil line spilling fluid onto his tyres, Takuma Sato got out for the final part of the session and managed 26 laps as he felt his way around the Japanese oval. That left him 22nd, 0.6s off the pace.
Fellow local favourites Hideki Mutoh (Newman/Haas) and Roger Yasukawa (Conquest) were 16th and 23rd.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Ryan Briscoe Penske 27.2382s 2. Helio Castroneves Penske 27.2769s + 0.0387s 3. Tony Kanaan Andretti 27.3223s + 0.0841s 4. Danica Patrick Andretti 27.3732s + 0.1350s 5. EJ Viso KV 27.3836s + 0.1454s 6. Will Power Penske 27.4062s + 0.1680s 7. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 27.4294s + 0.1912s 8. Marco Andretti Andretti 27.4632s + 0.2250s 9. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 27.4939s + 0.2557s 10. Dan Wheldon Panther 27.5048s + 0.2666s 11. Scott Dixon Ganassi 27.5468s + 0.3086s 12. Vitor Meira Foyt 27.6191s + 0.3809s 13. Alex Tagliani FAZZT 27.6310s + 0.3928s 14. Bertrand Baguette Conquest 27.6725s + 0.4343s 15. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas 27.6789s + 0.4407s 16. Hideki Mutoh Newman/Haas 27.7078s + 0.4696s 17. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 27.7083s + 0.4701s 18. Mario Moraes KV 27.7905s + 0.5523s 19. Paul Tracy Dreyer & Reinbold 27.7927s + 0.5545s 20. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne 27.8292s + 0.5910s 21. Raphael Matos De Ferran Dragon 27.8572s + 0.6190s 22. Takuma Sato KV 27.8727s + 0.6345s 23. Roger Yasukawa Conquest 27.9404s + 0.7022s 24. Milka Duno Dale Coyne 28.3537s + 1.1155s 25. Simona de Silvestro HVM 28.4374s + 1.1992s
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