Honda raises the bar at Indy

Matsuura's 221.857mph lap and the 221.705 recorded by Super Aguri Fernandez owner and team-mate Adrian Fernandez were the first 221s of the week, turning up the heat on the ever-increasing numbers and the intense manufacturers' battle at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Toyota had recorded the fastest laps during the previous two days of practice and a two-day test session last month at the speedway. While Honda had been relatively quick in the first two practice sessions at Indy, it hadn't broken into the top two at day's end. In fact, until Tuesday, Honda had barely topped 219mph.

The production improved dramatically Tuesday as Matsuura, Fernandez and Tony Kanaan posted the top three laps of the day, all under Honda power and all well over 220mph. The sweep would have been four positions had Helio Castroneves and his Toyota not bumped Bryan Herta from the third spot in the final minutes of the session.

For Matsuura, virtually unknown in the US, the lap was an important statement. He had been widely criticised earlier this season for crashes that took out two established IRL IndyCar Series drivers, Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr.

"It was a great day," Matsuura said. "It's not qualifying; it's a test day, but it was a good day. We will see this Saturday. It depends on the weather and how conditions change, but it is the same for everyone. We need some luck for qualifying, but I am very confident."

In all, Honda had six of the top eight laps Tuesday, all over 219mph. In contrast, Honda's best lap on the first day of an open test April 28 at the speedway ranked 11th overall.

One of the reasons behind Tuesday's surge was Fernandez, who began closely tutoring Matsuura after moving his No. 5 car from the Champ Car World Series to the IRL in March.

"Adrian has taught me a lot of things," Matsuura said. "We've been together Now since Phoenix. The first race at Homestead, as you know, wasn't good. Since rookie orientation, the car has been very consistent here. Today we had the engine and the set-up right and hit 221mph."

While Honda made vast improvement, the momentum went the opposite direction for Chevrolet, which had only one lap - Tomas Scheckter's 219.172 mph - among the top 10 in Tuesday's session.

Felipe Giaffone crashed during the final hour, damaging the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Chevy-Dallara. Giaffone was not injured in the accident, which occurred on the exit of Turn Three.

"I was trying to work the draft and got a little push, so I lifted," said Giaffone. "Then I got a huge push and got up in the grey. It's frustrating because it's always Turn One that's the difficult one (not Turn Three)."

Earlier in the day, Marty Roth spun his No. 25 Roth Racing Toyota-Dallara, the car's nose missing the wall by just inches. Roth, who completed the fourth phase of the rookie orientation program on Sunday, also spun out Monday. Like Tuesday's spin, Monday's spin did not result in contact.

So far in three days of practice, only two cars have been damaged in crashes - Giaffone's and Robby Gordon's, which hit the wall during Monday's session.

Practice continues each day this week from noon to 7pm (EDT). Pole qualifying is set for Saturday at noon; the race is May 30 at noon. Temperatures are expected to cool off slightly for Saturday's pole qualifying session, with forecasts calling for a high of 70 degrees under sunny skies.