Will Power recorded his 23rd career pole-position in Baltimore on Saturday afternoon, storming to the top spot in the final two minutes of qualifying. The Australian’s personal best effort of 1:20.244 gave him a one tenth of a second advantage over Ganassi’s Graham Rahal, with Penske team-mate Ryan Briscoe completing the top three drivers.
"The final run was absolutely everything I had in me and it was exhausting," said Power, who currently trails championship leader Dario Franchitti by 25 points. "I think that securing the pole position is an advantage here because you don’t have to worry about trying to pass, and since it is a street circuit there can be a lot of yellows."
After setting the pace in the two proceeding practice sessions, Power left it late to move atop the timesheets this afternoon. A late flying lap saw him surge ahead of his nearest rivals, raising his 2011 pole total to seven. Dario Franchitti had to settle for fourth despite his early pace, with Frenchman Sebastian Bourdais narrowly behind.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was the final man inside the Fast Six for Andretti Autosport, the American denying Penske driver Hélio Castroneves of the spot after the initial phase of laps. Mike Conway will join the latter on the fourth row, while E.J. Viso and Scott Dixon complete the top ten runners ahead of tomorrow's 75-lap race.
Sunday's race begins at 2.45pm local time (BST -5)
Series
IndyCar Series
Personalities
Will Power
Teams
Team Penske
Other
DTM Tickets (best price guarantee!) at Sportstadium.com
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  W. Power | Penske | 01:20.244 | 12 |
| 2. | G. Rahal | Chip Ganassi | 01:20.323 | 18 |
| 3. | R. Briscoe | Penske | 01:20.702 | 18 |
| 4. | D. Franchitti | Chip Ganassi | 01:20.711 | 19 |
| 5. | S. Bourdais | Dale Coyne | 01:20.972 | 17 |
| 6. | R. Hunter-Reay | Andretti | 01:21.009 | 18 |
| 7. | H. Castroneves | Penske | 01:20.850 | 12 |
| 8. | M. Conway | Andretti | 01:20.907 | 11 |
| 9. | E.J. Viso | Lotus KV Racing | 01:20.941 | 13 |
| 10. | S. Dixon | Chip Ganassi | 01:21.061 | 11 |
| Full results | ||||
| Will Power | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| More Will Power photos | |||
English
Nederlands
Español
Italiano
