Danica Patrick continued her success in Japan, leading the opening day of preparations for this weekend's Indy Japan 300. source: crash.net Patrick, who used a strong run at Motegi to set up her breakthrough performance at the Indianapolis 500 in 2005, lapped the 1.5-mile egg-shaped oval in 26.9585 seconds, 202.979 mph, in her No. 7 Team Motorola Honda powered Dallara. "The team gave me a good car to start with and we made small changes during the morning session," said Patrick. "In this afternoon's practice, we didn't change anything. It follows along with a saying that my dad has, 'However you unload is how you run.' We unloaded with a good car and it's been a fairly straightforward day." Super Aguri Panther Racing's Kosuke Matsuura, the only Japanese driver in the IndyCar Series, meanwhile was second-quick with a lap of 27.0260, 202.472. "I couldn't get a good result in the morning session but the car's running great all day. I am satisfied with the setup and I could run pretty well alone so I want to run in traffic during the practice session tomorrow," he noted. "The team has been working so hard on my car to win the race in my home country so I am looking forward to the Qualifying tomorrow and hopefully get a good starting position." Defending race winner Helio Castroneves (202.295 mph), Tony Kanaan (201.972 mph) and two-time Motegi winner Dan Wheldon (201.444) rounded out the top five as teams battled cool and windy conditions throughout both practice sessions.
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