James Hinchcliffe, through the Long Beach hairpin, was fastest in the first practice session and ended up 12th fastest on the day. (Photo-Chris Jones/IndyCar)

Long Beach, California – Unofficially, it was French Friday on the streets of Long Beach as Frenchmen Simon Pagenaud and Sebastien Bourdais led the opening day of preparations for the 40th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Pagenaud, of Montmorillon, France, was quickest on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn circuit with a lap of 1 minute, 9.1488 seconds in the 45-minute session. Bourdais, a three-time winner of the race from Le Mans, France, was .0120 of a second back in the No. 11 Mistic KVSH Racing car.

"I think the team's done a great job over the winter at helping the car on the curbs and on the bumps," said Pagenaud, driving the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports car. "I feel pretty confident this weekend; we've got a pretty good package. Obviously, with different series running there will be different rubber on the track. You have to adapt. As the track rubbers up, the softness of the car needs to go up or needs to go down, and that's what we'll have to adjust for the red Firestone tires that are going to give us more grip. It's quite exciting."

Verizon IndyCar Series rookie Jack Hawksworth was third quick (1:09.4409) in the No. 98 Charter/Castrol Edge entry for BHA/BBM with Curb Agajanian, while 2013 race winner Takuma Sato was fourth (1:09.4524) in the No. 14 ABC Supply car for A.J. Foyt Racing. Will Power, a two-time winner and three-time pole sitter here, was fifth (1:09.4980) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car.

Five different teams were represented in the top five, with Honda having a 3-2 edge in the afternoon session. The 23 drivers recorded 765 laps combined.

Drivers also were practicing for the standing start -- the first of the season and the first at Long Beach since 2008 -- for the 80-lap race April 13.

DAY 1 NOTEBOOK:

The Verizon IndyCar Series will compete in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, an 80-lap race at 4:50 p.m. (ET) Sunday. The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the final developmental step on the Mazda Road to Indy, will compete in the Long Beach 100, a 45-lap race at 1:15 p.m. Sunday.

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Live timing and scoring reports from the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach are available on the Internet at racecontrol.indycar.com. The live timing and scoring module provides statistical information, including track segment speeds, lap information and much more.

Feature stories, reports, driver quotes and notes, and photos will be posted on the INDYCAR media web at media.indycar.com. More detailed information, including media advisories and VNF coordinates are also posted on the media web site. Media updates will also be provided on Twitter by following @indycarpr

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Dario Franchitti joined Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster on the podium to accept a replica of the medallion that he would soon unveil as one of the newest members of the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame.

It's the first of many induction ceremonies that Franchitti, who retired in November from motorsports competition with four Verizon IndyCar Series championships and three Indianapolis 500 victories, will likely be involved in through the decade.

Franchitti joined Grand Prix Association of Long Beach co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe in having medallions secured in the concrete sidewalk abutting the Long Beach Convention Center. The medallions include renditions of the racers' cars and their major achievements in motorsports.

DARIO FRANCHITTI: "I'm going to put this in what we call in Scotland the 'I love me room,' It's a real privilege to be inducted. It's a place that I've enjoyed coming to and a track that I've really enjoyed racing on. I got my first (Indy car) podium here way back in in 1998 when I finished second to Alex Zanardi, which seemed to happen quite a lot. I won my first race here for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2009, so it's a place with great memories."

BOB FOSTER (Mayor of Long Beach): "Dario Franchitti, Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven have made legendary contributions to the field of motorsports, and they have truly earned their place on the Motorsports Walk of Fame. These three honorees have tremendous accomplishments, here in Long Beach and around the world. I personally want to thank (Kalkhoven) for all your investment of energy and time. Without you, this great event would not have happened."

KEVIN KALKHOVEN (Co-owner, KV Racing Technology): "To be in the company of Jimmy and (2008 honoree) Parnelli (Jones) and Dario is an honor. It really irritated me that Jimmy got in first because we're desperately competitive. I'm sure some places will be serving his wine during this event, and I can assure you that mine is still better. At least that's my theory."
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Oriol Servia projects a four-race stint in a second Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car becoming a multi-year opportunity.

Servia, 39, will make his 192nd Indy car start in the 40th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in the No. 16 Honda-powered car as a teammate to the No. 15 National Guard entry driven by Graham Rahal. In 12 starts on the temporary street course dating to 2000, Servia has a best finish of second (2007) among five top 10s.

The Los Angeles resident competed in 12 races last season for Panther Racing, with Long Beach among his four top-10 finishes. Long Beach is the start of four consecutive races for Servia, who drove for the team in the 2009 Indianapolis 500. He aims for something long term.

"I'm looking at this opportunity as one I've never had - to build a program that I can take the profit off the build in Year 2 and 3," said Servia, who will have Eddie Jones as his race engineer. "If we put the team together and we start getting successful as we should, there's no reason why we cannot find proper sponsorship that will allow us to have two or three good seasons together. That's what you need to challenge the top teams year after year. Like any other sport, you need continuity to beat the top teams. It takes time to get the best out of each other, so I hope we're being stronger and longer."

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Al Unser Jr., who will compete in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on April 12, has won six Indy car races at Long Beach (including four in a row).

Paul Tracy, who will join NBCSN's qualifying and race telecasts this weekend, and Mario Andretti have won four times. Andretti, the grand marshal for the 40th annual race, won the 1977 Formula One race on the city streets in addition to the 1984, '85 and '87 CART-sanctioned races. Andretti also is tied for the most poles (three) with Will Power, Michael Andretti and Gil de Ferran.

Sebastien Bourdais of KVSH Racing is the active leader with three wins (in a row) at Long Beach. Power has won twice.

"I had some success at Long Beach when I raced in Champ Cars. The last few years have been more difficult, but based on how good the KVSH Racing car was in St. Petersburg I am looking forward to debuting the Mistic machine this weekend in Long Beach," Bourdais said.

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In 1996, Gil de Ferran's first CART season driving a Honda-powered car, he started from the pole and led 100 of the 105 laps in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He didn't win the race, which haunts the championship winner to this day.

"Let's just say we had a tiny problem in the engine department. Actually, it was a $2 part," de Ferran said at the racing circuit. "Actually, it was a very traumatic day for me. But rather than remembering the failure, I remember leading the race and really it was the beginning of the relationship that lasts to today."

Honda Performance Development announced that the 2003 Indianapolis 500 Mile race winner, has expanded his role as a consultant into new areas, ranging from improving operations, team and driver relationships to assisting with the company's motorsports strategic and business planning.

De Ferran won his initial CART race for Honda at the 1996 Cleveland Grand Prix, and he went on to record six more wins and 16 poles with Honda power. He claimed the 2000 and 2001 CART title.

"Honda and HPD have been a common thread in my racing career since we first worked to develop their Indy car engines in 1996," said de Ferran, who served as Sporting Director for the Honda Formula One team from 2005-07. "Now, after two years of targeted work as a technical consultant in specific areas, I am looking forward to taking on this more expanded role."

He will continue to play a key role in HPD's technical development of various HPD programs, in addition to his expanded responsibilities.

"Since the beginning, there was an immediate bond from an engineering and development perspective," said de Ferran, who has a degree in mechanical engineering. "That affinity continued over the years."

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE #1

At 9:45 a.m., the ambient temperature was 63 degrees with a relative humidity of 76 percent and winds from the north-northeast at 2 mph. Skies were sunny. The track temperature was 86 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

10 a.m. - GREEN.

10:21 a.m. - RED FLAG. #67 Newgarden makes contact with the tire barrier in Turn 8. Driver climbs from the car without assistance from the Holmatro Safety Team. Car is returned to paddock on a wrecker.

10:28 a.m. - GREEN.

10:45 p.m. - CHECKERED.

FASTEST TIMES/SPEEDS OF SESSION:

Quotes from Andretti Autosport drivers media availablity:

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 Snapple Honda): "This is on my wish list. This is a big race for me, probably second to Indianapolis that I want to win. My dad and I were talking about it on the way here how cool it would be to have three generations win at one track. Definitely not pleased with my Long Beach record so far. I had a fun race last year from the back, but like Ryan said, qualifying is important, and we caught an unfortunate penalty last year, so I had to start 25th and I think ended up 6th or 7th. But I think hopefully we can advance to the Firestone Fast Six and try to get the job done from there."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "It's great to be back at Long Beach, though. This is one of my favorite events of the season. Like any street circuit, though, you need to qualify well to have a good shot at it, so it's really it really just falls into the street circuit template that way. We're all trying to get up front, and especially with the standing start, I think it'll be important."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda): "the biggest thing about these street circuits is trying to stay ahead of the track. It's one thing to be quick in the first practice, but the track evolves, you need to evolve the setup and kind of stay one step ahead of it, and that's something we haven't been awesome at in years past. We just missed the Fast Six last year, but the United Fiber & Data car was quick this morning, and hopefully we can stay ahead of things and put ourselves in position to be there for qualifying tomorrow."

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE #2:

At 1:45 p.m., the ambient temperature was 69 degrees with a relative humidity of 48 percent. Winds from the east-southeast at 4 mph. Skies were sunny. The track temperature was 111 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

2 p.m. - GREEN.

2:45 p.m. - CHECKERED.

FASTEST TIMES/SPEEDS OF SESSION:

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES POST-PRACTICE QUOTES:

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Charter Communications/SPHM Honda): "It's been good. The track is - as usual - one of the funnest to drive on. Everything is fine, the sun is shining and it's pretty nice so far. The car's been wonderful, I think the team's done a great job over the winter at helping the car on the curbs and on the bumps. I feel pretty confident this weekend, we've got a pretty good package. (About track conditions): "Obviously with different series running there will be different rubber on the track, especially from the [IMSA] series. You have to adapt to that. That rubber, the Continental rubber, we don't know how it's going to behave with our Firestone tires, so you always have to adjust. I think obviously as the track rubbers up, the softness of the car needs to go up or needs to go down, and that's what we'll have to adjust for the red Firestone tires that are going to give us more grip. It's quite exciting, I'm actually really excited about tomorrow already."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Mistic KVSH Racing Chevrolet): "You need the balance (in Long Beach) and it can be a very difficult place. I'm pretty happy with where we're at, we still have a bit of work to do, but the KVSH Group has done a whole lot over the winter and we're showcasing in the Mistic car this weekend and hopefully we can put it up front. It's going to be hard to make a move on somebody on Sunday, so track position is going to be crucial more than ever, but every time we say that we end up seeing more passing than any other race."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda): "It wasn't bad, a pretty typical Friday for a street circuit. The track changes a lot from P1 to P2 and we try our best to stay ahead of that but we still have some work to do. We made a couple mistakes in that second session and traffic is always a bit of nightmare here, so it's tough - you never know exactly where you stand. The United Fiber & Data car is obviously in the ball park so we'll have a think about it tonight and come back strong tomorrow."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 Snapple Honda): "I think as a team we have a direction where we know we need to go, we just didn't get there for practice two. Hopefully tomorrow we can confirm that for practice three tomorrow. But all four Andretti cars are speaking the same language so we think we know what we need to do to be strong in the Snapple car tomorrow."

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE (all times local):

10- 10:45 a.m.: Verizon IndyCar Series practice #3
1:15 - 2:25 p.m.: Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying for Verizon P1 Award (knockout qualifying and Firestone Fast Six), NBCSN (Taped, 3 p.m)

Results of the combined Friday practice sessions: