Sebastien Bourdais tops Barber IndyCar practice after brake issue

The Frenchman set his quickest time of 1m07.3399s on his 10th lap to finish 0.1263 seconds ahead of Jack Hawksworth, and just 0.2s away from last year's pole time by Helio Castroneves.

Former Toro Rosso Formula 1 driver Bourdais had struggled with brake balance early on in the 75-minute session, but several trips to the pits to tweak it resulted in a set-up he was more comfortable with.

The Honda-powered Dallaras put in a more competitive performance than in Long Beach one week ago, with five Hondas in the top six.

Carlos Munoz completed the early afternoon running 0.2739s behind Bourdais, and ahead of Andretti team-mate Ryan Hunter-Reay by just 0.0432s.

Takuma Sato, James Hinchcliffe and Graham Rahal lined up behind.

Long Beach winner and championship leader Simon Pagenaud proved to be the second quickest Chevrolet, finishing eighth - 0.4564s off Bourdais' time.

The Team Penske and Chip Ganassi runners elected to complete fewer runs than their Honda rivals, leaving championship protagonists Scott Dixon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Will Power and Castroneves outside of the top 10.

Tony Kanaan finished the session last after a battery voltage issue curtailed his running, having clocked just six laps.

The first session ran underneath the early afternoon Alabama sunshine, but forecasters have predicted a 60 per cent chance of rain for the second practice later on.

PRACTICE ONE TIMES: