Three Kvrt Drivers Deal With Tough Track Conditions In Practice

Mario Moraes, who finished fourth last year at Infineon Raceway, led the KV Racing Technology three-car lineup Friday in the opening practice round for Sunday's Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Moraes, driving the No. 32 KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone car, posted an average speed of 104.831 miles per hour on the demanding 2.30-mile, 12-turn circuit north of San Francisco. Dario Franchitti was the fastest Friday at 105.889 m.p.h.

Moraes, who has three top-ten road course showings in 2010, scored his best road racing finish here a year ago in the KVRT machine when he came from 14th to fourth in the 75-lap contest. Moraes is seeking a better qualifying spot this year in an effort to challenge for a podium placing on Sunday. Hot track conditions made for a slippery surface Friday.

E.J. Viso, who led nine laps at the Sonoma event in 2008, drove his No. 8 PDVSA — KVRT Honda/Dallara/Firestone entry to a speed of 104.382 m.p.h. Viso is seeking to return to the Firestone Fast Six qualifying round on Saturday. He made the Fast Six at Edmonton.

Formula One veteran Takuma Sato, a rookie in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series, made his Infineon Raceway debut today in the No. 5 Lotus-KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone car. The Japanese star recorded an average speed of 104.090 m.p.h. Sato, who qualified third at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago, has qualified for the Firestone Fast Six rounds in all three of the previous permanent road circuit events at Barber, Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio.

Qualifying is set for 2:30 p.m. (PDT) Saturday with Sunday's race scheduled at 2:45 p.m. (PDT). The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will be televised live on the VERSUS Network.

DRIVER QUOTES:

MARIO MORAES – No. 32 KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE: "Overall, it was a good day. I really like this track. It is one of the most challenging on the circuit. We are looking over the data and we had a couple of things that posed a problem. We had a brake problem. The brakes are being changed for Saturday. Unfortunately, we are in the hard qualifying group but we really want to make the top six out of there. We need to work harder to get into the second qualifying round. Last year, we finished fourth here. We need to really work on the fuel strategy for Sunday to make it a two-stop race."

EJ VISO – No. 8 PDVSA – KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE: "The track surface was different today from where it was last week (in testing). The things that worked for us last week didn't really work today. We need to analyze the data that we had from last week with the data from today. If we can get the information sorted out, I think we can be good for qualifying. This is a track where you can overtake. But you really want to qualify up front and race with the fast guys earlier in the race. That is our goal for Saturday."

TAKUMA SATO: No. 5 LOTUS – KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE:

"It was a reasonable day. The track condition was slippery at the beginning of the practice session. But we also had a little struggle on the balance of the car. At the end, the track and weather conditions got better but we need to get more grip. We wanted to try some more things with the car. But we ran out of time today. We will analyze the data from today. Hopefully, we can put everything together and be ready for a strong run tomorrow (Saturday)."