Toyota's Timo Glock was fastest in Friday practice at the Japanese Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton edged title rival Felipe Massa.
Glock set a best time of one minute 18.363 seconds to beat Renault's Fernando Alonso by just 0.043secs.
McLaren's Hamilton was third at Fuji, 0.040secs behind the Spaniard and 0.028secs ahead of Massa's Ferrari.
The Brazilian's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Mark Webber completed the top six.
Hamilton had been fastest of all in the first practice session, setting a time of 1:18.910secs to head Massa by 0.153secs, with the Englishman's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen and Raikkonen third and fourth.
Alonso, winner last time out in Singapore and yet to decide whether to stay at Renault next season, was fifth in the first session.
"The car is as I expected it to be be - very consistent at this circuit and I'm very happy with it"The top 17 drivers were all covered by less than a second, raising hopes for a close, competitive race.
Hamilton said: "The car is as I expected it to be be - very consistent at this circuit and I'm very happy with it. We're in a good position.
"On dry pace, we're going to be very close to Ferrari, and I think in the wet we'll be very competitive."
Practice was held in warm sunshine, with the Mount Fuji volcano visible beyond the track, in stark contrast to the torrential rain that afflicted most of the race weekend last year.
But it started raining soon after the end of practice and Hamilton said he expected rain to play a role in the weekend at some point.
Rain is forecast for Saturday's qualifying session, although race day is predicted to be dry on Sunday.
Massa added: "I think it will be very close, but I think we are going in the right direction.
"The lap times were very competitive. My car felt good on the first lap and also on the long runs. I'm pretty with happy with the day and how the car behaved.
"We have a good balance on the car and on speed we are looking quite good as well. I think we will be competitive."
There were a number of spins and off-track moments - including from Hamilton - as the cars laid down rubber on the track and it began to pick up grip.
Glock is not expected to be a contender for victory. Fuji is Toyota's home track, and it is probable the team were running him with less fuel than his rivals so they could put on an eye-catching performance.
606: DEBATE
"I had a nice lap near the beginning of the session and it's great for the team to end up quickest on Friday here in Japan," the German said.
"So far I'm happy and it would be nice to keep the position like this for the whole weekend. That will obviously be difficult but hopefully the local fans will give us an extra boost."
Results from first practice at the Japanese Grand Prix:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes one minute 18.910 seconds
2. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:19.063
3. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.279
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:19.399
5. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:19.473
6. Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 1:19.743
7. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.121
8. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:20.160
9. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.182
10. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1:20.217
11. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:20.288
12. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:20.350
13. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.620
14. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:20.628
15. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:20.657
16. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:20.753
17. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:20.769
18. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:20.823
19. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.905
20. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.014
Results from second practice:
1. Glock 1:18.383
2. Alonso 1:18.426
3. Hamilton 1:18.463
4. Massa 1:18.491
5. Raikkonen 1:18.725
6. Webber 1:18.734
7. Nakajima 1:18.734
8. Vettel 1:18.761
9. Kovalainen 1:18.803
10. Trulli 1:18.863
11. Kubica 1:18.865
12. Piquet Jr 1:18.888
13. Rosberg 1:18.981
14. Bourdais 1:19.040
15. Barrichello 1:19.258
16. Sutil 1:19.287
17. Coulthard 1:19.327
18. Fisichella 1:19.482
19. Heidfeld 1:19.894
20. Button 1:19.999
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