The duo, however, will have to watch out for Briton James Winslow who finished second in the first practice run and first in the afternoon using a new chassis from Japan. Teammate Dillon Battistini was third fastest in both runs as the Fujitsu Racing with Threebond drivers threatened to crash the party after being nearly shut out the last time.
Irishman Ali Jackson of Aran Racing busted his engine after just eight laps in the morning session and watched from the sidelines in the second session while team personnel raced to install a new engine in his Dallara in time for Saturday’s qualifying session.
Peña’s battery quit after just one lap in the afternoon run but the 19-year-old Team Goddard lead driver was unperturbed, saying he would have gone faster than his fastest time of one minute and 35.593 seconds earlier if not for that minor inconvenience.
"I feel very comfortable with the car now," said Peña, who returned to the pit in the 12th lap of the morning run to change to new tires while the rest opted to finish using old tires. "We have to know how much advantage we have in terms of tires. I used new tires in the last two laps while the rest used old tires."
All the drivers struggled with humid conditions here but the weather was just fine for Peña although the forecast is for a rainy Saturday, with typhoon Florita, a recent Philippine visitor, reportedly on its way here.
"I don’t think the weather’s going to be a problem.
The reliability of the cars will play a big factor.
Last time, the weatherman said it’s gonna be hot, but it was the opposite," said Peña, whose stint here is supported by pldtmypad, pldtmydsl, Mossimo and Hanjin. Race enthusiasts can log on to www.asianf3.net and www.mypad.net for regular updates.
Sy, 18, claimed his team has found the proper set-up for his rebuilt Dallara that figured in a crash with Speedtech Asia teammate Gabby dela Merced in Round 5.
He was bugged, however, by vibrating tires in the morning practice session where he was fifth fastest although he showed remarkable improvement in the afternoon run with a clocking of 1:36.942.
"The set-up is now almost similar to my old car," said Sy. "I’m also prepared to race in any kind of set-up, in any kind of weather. I’m after the overall points. I won’t mind playing second to Dado, as long as Filipino ang manalo."
With the crash involving Sy and Dela Merced’s car still fresh on everybody’s mind, organizers kept an eagle eye on the field Friday and fined two drivers-Indon Moreno Soeprapto of Aran Racing and
Macanese Loumeng Cheong of Team Goddard - for ignoring the yellow flag.
Winslow, meanwhile, was all smiles after the morning run where he clocked the second fastest time of 1:36.131, half-a-second slower than Pena, and 1:36.709 in the afternoon. This was not the case the last time out when he threatened to walk out of the race due to his car’s poor performance.
"We had problems during the last two races. I’m fastest now among those who used old tires and I still have to see how the car will perform using new tires.
We hope to get the top two, with Dillon," said Winslow, who is running fifth in the standings with 42 points behind Pena and Jackson (52), Battistini (56) and Sy (87).
Dela Merced, competing the promotions class for cars with chassis built in 2000 and below along with Cheong and Indon Satrio Hermanto, spun out after just three laps in the morning run but was confident she would do well in the actual race Saturday.
Organizers had a last-minute change in the race schedule Saturday, with the battle for pole position for Round 7 set at 9 a.m. and Round 6, canceled last month due to heavy rains at the Zhuhai track, set at noon.