It was Enrique Ruiz who lead the way in the first practice session of the season, followed by the Downtons of Van Snelheid and Zettici respectively who completed the top three. It was a tight session at the front of the grid as the top four looked incredibly comfortable for the duration. They matched each other blow for blow when it came to race pace, all four drivers taking the top spot at various points in the session. It was only on the low fuel qualifying sims that Ruiz seemed to find a little something extra over his rivals, and even then it was only by a tenth. Powers had a strong showing for his new team in fifth, looking rapidly more comfortable as he settled into the car throughout the session. It was a grand day for Phoenix and Ingram, as both teams saw their cars inside the top ten - a big ask given the competitive nature of the grid. This was especially so for Phoenix who managed to place their cars 6th and 7th with an all new lineup; they'll be hoping they can translate this pace into a good qualifying later. Thunstrom looked a bit rocky early in the session, not seeming able to work any temperature into his tyres in the cold conditions, but ended up finding his feet toward the end of the session, only a couple tenths back from new teammate Powers. Arrow also had a good morning, going 12th and 13th fastest with their new Honda power doing them some favours at the supplier's home race. Further back several teams would've been very disappointed with the way their practice unfolded. Lopez were a far cry from their form the last two times of visiting Fuji - they could only manage 20th and 27th and will surely hope for better. In the same vein we have Franklin and FIRST who will surely be getting worried about performance. FIRST were fast enough for 17th and 26th, and Franklin couldn't break into the top 20, the aggressive innovative design proving a handful for the returning Hoskins and youngster Forini. It's not all doom and gloom at the back though! Highwind had a solid showing from Xylander, who found himself in 21st ahead of some arguably faster cars. But it wasn't just his low fuel runs that did him favours, his race sims were turning a few heads among the back of the midfield as well. He may well be one to watch if he can survive the gauntlet of pre-qualifying. All in all, we still won't know the true pecking order until the track goes green for qualifying later; we hope you'll join us for the spectacle! See below for full practice results.
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