Team Penske driver Simon Pagenaud claimed his first pole position of the year, taking top honours on Saturday for the Honda Indy Toronto race, setting a new lap record in the process.
Pagenaud's 58.9124 second lap with an average speed of 109.138mph bettered the previous lap record around the temporary 11-turn street circuit by just over eight-tenths, which was set by Will Power in 2016.
It's Pagenaud's tenth career pole and Team Penske's eighth this season.
Graham Rahal qualified second for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with a lap of 59.2245 seconds (108.563 mph), three-tenths adrift of pole.
A pair of Pagenaud’s team-mates at Team Penske, Helio Castroneves and Power, locked up the second row in qualifying. Castroneves was third fastest in the #3 car with defending race winner Power fourth in the #12.
Championship leader Scott Dixon was fifth with a time of 59.7970 seconds. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has advanced to the Firestone Fast Six, the third and final round of knockout qualifying, at every road- and street-course race where it has been contested this season.
The final spot in the Firestone Fast Six went to hometown favorite James Hinchcliffe, who equaled his best Toronto qualifying effort of sixth with a lap of 1:00.14145 in the #5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda.
Two incidents in earlier qualifying rounds affected drivers Esteban Gutierrez and JR Hildebrand.
Rookie Gutierrez will start last in the 21-car field after he made hard contact with the wall at the exit of Turn 11 at the conclusion of Segment 1, Group 1 qualifying. The Dale Coyne Racing entry sustained significant right-side and rear damage in the incident.
Hildebrand slid into the wall at the exit of Turn 8 in Segment 2 qualifying, when his car jumped the curb on the inside of the corner and slid straight into the barrier. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver will start 12th in Sunday’s race.
Click here for full qualifying results.
