Tony Kanaan Quickest at Motegi Thursday Practice
Written by Allan Brewer · April 17, 2008
AGR Ace Ready to Rumble in Far-Eastern Tilt
Andretti Green Racing’s Tony Kanaan made a splashy oriental debut on Thursday (April 17th) as he rolled his Dallara/Honda to a field’s-highest lap of 27.2453 seconds (200.842 mph) at Twin Ring Motegi, Japan.
Tony was followed on the timesheets by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon; with Penske driver Helio Castroneves and Vision Racing’s Ed Carpenter making up the top five.
“Overall, it was OK,” said Kanaan. “We ran a full day and hopefully tomorrow will be better.”
“I’m not quite happy with the balance of the car, but we still have two days to go and a lot of work to do.”
“It’s Turn 4 where I’m having the problem,” he continued, ”so we’re trying to make the car better there. Turns 3 and 4 are the key to have a balanced car for the race; that’s where you’re going to make the pass.”
Teams spent most of the day in race mode, anticipating rainfall that is predicted to wash out Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions at the track.
On a side note, a small earthquake (Richter 5.7) struck the Japanese mainland early on Thursday morning, sending quivvers through the Motegi area.
It awoke several drivers and team members (including Danica Patrick and IRL founder Tony George).
Of the rumble, Foyt Racing’s Darren Manning said, “It felt like a washing machine went off in my room. It was like I was on a gentle spin cycle. “
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Congratulations to Danica Patrick for her convincing first win at Motegi!
5.8 seconds over P2 Helio ought to quiet most critics.