Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti was the fastest IZOD IndyCar driver at Sonoma following the first day of practice on the beautiful Californian road course.
The Scots was able to clock a best time of 1m19.427s, merely 0.136s ahead of Will Power (Penske).
In the first group of drivers to hit the track, Power's teammate Helio Castroneves had been the quickest but soon enough, when the second group came into action, the Brazilian lost his grip on top of the sheet time.
Power quickly set the best lap and it remained that way most of the 30 minutes session before Franchitti moved over with only a few minutes to go.
Returnee Giorgio Pantano did not loose too much time finding his marks and finished the session with a promising fifth place for Dreyer & Reinbold, the Italian substituing for injured Justin Wilson.
On the other hand, his fellow ex-GP2 racer Ho-Pin Tung began his weekend by going 17th quickest for Dragon Racing.
Meanwhile, Alex Tagliani's afternoon was cut short when he lost control of his Sam Schmidt Motorsports car at the exit of Turn 3 and hit the barriers after completing just seven laps.
Practice Results - Sonoma, California:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1m19.427s
2. Will Power Penske 1m19.563s + 0.163s
3. Helio Castroneves Penske 1m19.664s + 0.237s
4. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m20.042s + 0.615s
5. Giorgio Pantano Dreyer & Reinbold 1m20.129s + 0.702s
6. Sebastien Bourdais Dale Coyne 1m20.228s + 0.801s
7. Ana Beatriz Sam Schmidt 1m20.251s + 0.824s
8. Ernesto Viso KV 1m20.348s + 0.919s
9. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas 1m20.386s + 0.932s
10. James Jakes Dale Coyne 1m20.421s + 0.994s
11. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 1m20.423s + 0.996s
12. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 1m20.564s + 1.137s
13. Charlie Kimball Ganassi 1m20.630s + 1.203s
14. Graham Rahal Ganassi 1m20.633s + 1.206s
15. Marco Andretti Andretti 1m20.671s + 1.244s
16. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m20.695s + 1.268s
17. Ho-Pin Tung Sam Schmidt Dragon 1m20.719s + 1.292s
18. Mike Conway Andretti 1m20.724s + 1.297s
19. JR Hildebrand Panther 1m20.741s + 1.314s
20. Martin Plowman AFS/Sam Schmidt 1m20.787s + 1.360s
21. Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 1m20.849s + 1.421s
22. Tony Kanaan KV 1m20.852s + 1.424s
23. Takuma Sato KV 1m20.920s + 1.494s
24. Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 1m20.973s + 1.546s
25. Simon Pagenaud HVM 1m21.609s + 2.182s
26. Danica Patrick Andretti 1m21.634s + 2.207s
27. Vitor Meira Foyt 1m21.723s + 2.297s
28. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher 1m23.305s + 3.878s
The Scots was able to clock a best time of 1m19.427s, merely 0.136s ahead of Will Power (Penske).
In the first group of drivers to hit the track, Power's teammate Helio Castroneves had been the quickest but soon enough, when the second group came into action, the Brazilian lost his grip on top of the sheet time.
Power quickly set the best lap and it remained that way most of the 30 minutes session before Franchitti moved over with only a few minutes to go.
Returnee Giorgio Pantano did not loose too much time finding his marks and finished the session with a promising fifth place for Dreyer & Reinbold, the Italian substituing for injured Justin Wilson.
On the other hand, his fellow ex-GP2 racer Ho-Pin Tung began his weekend by going 17th quickest for Dragon Racing.
Meanwhile, Alex Tagliani's afternoon was cut short when he lost control of his Sam Schmidt Motorsports car at the exit of Turn 3 and hit the barriers after completing just seven laps.
Practice Results - Sonoma, California:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1m19.427s
2. Will Power Penske 1m19.563s + 0.163s
3. Helio Castroneves Penske 1m19.664s + 0.237s
4. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m20.042s + 0.615s
5. Giorgio Pantano Dreyer & Reinbold 1m20.129s + 0.702s
6. Sebastien Bourdais Dale Coyne 1m20.228s + 0.801s
7. Ana Beatriz Sam Schmidt 1m20.251s + 0.824s
8. Ernesto Viso KV 1m20.348s + 0.919s
9. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas 1m20.386s + 0.932s
10. James Jakes Dale Coyne 1m20.421s + 0.994s
11. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 1m20.423s + 0.996s
12. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 1m20.564s + 1.137s
13. Charlie Kimball Ganassi 1m20.630s + 1.203s
14. Graham Rahal Ganassi 1m20.633s + 1.206s
15. Marco Andretti Andretti 1m20.671s + 1.244s
16. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m20.695s + 1.268s
17. Ho-Pin Tung Sam Schmidt Dragon 1m20.719s + 1.292s
18. Mike Conway Andretti 1m20.724s + 1.297s
19. JR Hildebrand Panther 1m20.741s + 1.314s
20. Martin Plowman AFS/Sam Schmidt 1m20.787s + 1.360s
21. Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 1m20.849s + 1.421s
22. Tony Kanaan KV 1m20.852s + 1.424s
23. Takuma Sato KV 1m20.920s + 1.494s
24. Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 1m20.973s + 1.546s
25. Simon Pagenaud HVM 1m21.609s + 2.182s
26. Danica Patrick Andretti 1m21.634s + 2.207s
27. Vitor Meira Foyt 1m21.723s + 2.297s
28. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher 1m23.305s + 3.878s