Moraes tops Indy practice Thursday

UPDATE Second-year Indianapolis 500 starter Mario Moraes, who led his first laps in the IndyCar Series in last year's "500" and qualified seventh for this year's race, paced the opening day of the second week of practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (See related article)

Moraes recorded a best lap of 40.4061 seconds, 222.739 mph on the 2.5-mile oval. Ryan Briscoe was second (222.406), and pole sitter Helio Castroneves was third (222.395) as the 22 drivers who have already qualified for the race worked on their race setups.

“Today was great," said Moraes. “The KV Racing Technology – Votorantim team did a great job preparing the car. This week we are working on the race setups and I am trying to learn how to handle the car in traffic. Last year it was hard work, but this year I am looking forward to running at the front, so it is important for me to know what the car does in traffic."

Eleven drivers who will attempt to qualify this weekend also practiced. Oriol Servia, who finished 11th as a rookie last year, was the fastest (seventh overall) with a lap at 221.353 mph. Townsend Bell, a two-time Indianapolis 500 starter, was second (10th overall) at 220.938. It was the first practice session of the month for both drivers.

Practice continues Friday with Third Day Qualifying scheduled for Saturday when starting positions 23-33 will be filled. Bump Day is Sunday.

05/14/09 Practice Thursday for the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine and speed:
1. (5) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 222.739
2. (6T) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 222.406
3. (3T) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 222.395
4. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 222.374
5. (7) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 221.890
6. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 221.516
7. (17) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 221.353
8. (02) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 221.311
9. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 221.202
10. (8) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 220.938
11. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 220.450
12. (18T) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 220.389
13. (2T) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 220.389
14. (27) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 220.245
15. (4) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 220.242
16. (13) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 220.085
17. (12T) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 219.742
18. (99) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 219.651
19. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 219.417
20. (21T) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 219.287
21. (34T) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 218.986
22. (24) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 218.977
23. (67) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 218.967
24. (21T) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 218.894
25. (43) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 218.721
26. (06T) Robert Doornbos, Dallara-Honda, 218.428
27. (98) Stanton Barrett, Dallara-Honda, 218.098
28. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 217.936
29. (91) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Honda, 217.007
30. (00) Nelson Philippe, Dallara-Honda, 205.718