India's first-ever Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan [Images] spun early on the "surprising" Gille Villaneuve Circuit but was able to continue to finish 19th and 20th respectively in the two practice sessions ahead of the mid-season Canadian Grand Prix [Images] in Montreal.

The Jordan driver, who clocked 1 minute 19.791 seconds covering 21 laps in the morning, improved to 1:18.234 in the later session and completed a total of 50 laps to be ahead of his team mate Tiago Montiero of Portugal who had some hydraulic problems affecting the gearbox.

"Actually this track is a pleasant surprise. It is very smooth because it has been resurfaced and the bumps taken off. But it is slippery and dirty. We didn't have good grip on the track in the first session as it was rather dirty and the car was quite difficult to handle," the 28-year-old, who was driving here for the first time, said.

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The Indian said in his 50 laps he learnt that precision was the key on the track, which was considered the favourite of all the teams.

"The situation improved after the first 20 minutes of the session. The last chicane is surprisingly slow and the curbs very high. Precision is the key between some of these concrete blocks," Karthikeyan, who had failed to complete last race, said.

Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa of McLaren-Mercedes dominated both the sessions despite the attempts from other drivers to take over the lead. He was fastest in 1:14.662.

Ricardo Zonta of Panasonic Toyota (1:14.858) was second quickest and Fernando Alonso [Images] of Renault (1:15.376) followed.

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