June 19, 2005

• Trulli claims Toyota’s first Pole!
  US GP – Qualifying
  
  
  [18/06/05 - 21:02]
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  Delight for Toyota and Trulli at Indianapolis

  For an hour this afternoon, the tyre issues that have dominated the US Grand Prix weekend at Indianapolis were put to one side as the 20 drivers all completed their qualifying runs and somewhat fittingly, it was Jarno Trulli who claimed Toyota’s first Pole Position in Formula One.
  
  Kimi Raikkonen pushed as hard as he could in his McLaren Mercedes but lost out to Trulli by less than a tenth of a second. The result marks Trulli third career Pole Position and the result will lift the spirits of Toyota after such a tough start to the weekend.
  
  Jenson Button qualified his BAR Honda in third position but was a full six tenths of a second down on the front-row starters. As we was in Montreal last Sunday, the team are not afraid to run the 007 chassis light in qualifying position in order to get track position.
  
  Giancarlo Fisichella put in a clean lap to qualify the Renault in a solid fourth position as he chases just his fifth race finish of the season. Team-mate and Championship leader Fernando Alonso starts in sixth position.
  
  The Bridgestone-shod Ferrari’s did not have the pace to challenge the front-runners but Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello put in a good performance to qualify in fifth and seventh position respectively. As the tyre issues rumble on at Indianapolis, this team at least is just focused on the race and may well have added a little extra fuel to the F2005’s to help them on race day.
  
  Takuma Sato qualified his BAR Honda in eighth position, just two- tenths slower than team-mate Button, but with the field so close with the exception of the front-runners, that time is costly.
  
  BMW Williams has struggled all weekend long, as was the case last weekend in Montreal. Mark Webber put in a clean lap to start in ninth position while team-mate Nick Heidfeld languishes down the order in 15th.
  
  Felipe Massa pushed very hard on his qualifying lap and starts tenth in his Sauber Petronas. It was an aggressive lap from the Brazilian who starts ahead of the disappointing Juan Pablo Montoya in the second McLaren Mercedes and team-mate Jacques Villeneuve in the second C24.
  
  Making his first start of the season as he stands in for Ralf Schumacher, Ricardo Zonta did a good job considering he was the first runner on track to qualify in 13th position.
  
  Red Bull Cosworth seem to have lost pace as the weekend has progressed. Christian Klien starts in 14th position while team-mate David Coulthard made a small mistake on his qualifying run and starts 16th behind Heidfeld.
  
  Tiago Monteiro did a good job in the Jordan Toyota to qualify in 17th position ahead of Christijan Albers in the leading Minardi, Narain Karthikeyan in the second Jordan and Patrick Friesacher in the second Minardi.
  
  The 73-lap US Grand Prix starts at 20.00 CET and for the first time in Formula One, Toyota can really say ‘the car in front is a Toyota’.
  
  Michelin meanwhile, aim to bring in Barcelona specification tyres for the big race but a lot will depend on meetings this evening.
  
  Earl ALEXANDER
  © CAPSIS International

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