Will Power led the way in the first IndyCar practice session at Motegi. With a best lap time of 1:39.474, the Penske driver headed team-mate Helio Castroneves as championship leader Dario Franchitti capped the 75 minutes with seventh place.
Japan marks the only Asian meeting of the season, with two more practice sessions being held prior to qualifying on Saturday before the warm-up and race on Sunday.
The weekend has already started dramatically, with a 6.2 magnitude earthquake – with its epicentre some 65 miles away - having been felt by those present at the circuit on Thursday. As a result of damage to the oval from the 9.0 magnitude earthquake which shook Japan in March, the road course is being used this weekend.
Behind the leading pair, fourth-placed Ryan Briscoe confirmed a trio of Penskes in the top five by finishing fourth, with Canada’s James Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti filling the remaining top five positions for Newman/Haas and Andretti Autosport, respectively. Joao Paolo de Oliveira impressed by finishing the session eighth on his debut for Conquest, just ahead of Sébastien Bourdais and Takuma Sato.
With Hideki Mutoh 11th on his one-off return to the series, Britain’s James Jakes managed 13th spot for Dale Coyne, with Mike Conway way down in 23rd.
Motegi’s second practice begins at 8am on Saturday (BST +7)
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  W. Power | Penske | 01:39.474 | 21 |
| 2. | H. Castroneves | Penske | 01:39.596 | 24 |
| 3. | J. Hinchcliffe | Newman/Haas | 01:39.853 | 22 |
| 4. | R. Briscoe | Penske | 01:40.188 | 24 |
| 5. | M. Andretti | Andretti | 01:40.258 | 16 |
| 6. | A. Tagliani | Sam Schmidt | 01:40.264 | 17 |
| 7. | D. Franchitti | Chip Ganassi | 01:40.310 | 18 |
| 8. | J. de Oliveira | Conquest | 01:40.329 | 25 |
| 9. | S. Bourdais | Dale Coyne | 01:40.394 | 24 |
| 10. | T. Sato | Lotus KV Racing | 01:40.443 | 25 |
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