Josef Newgarden sets a new qualifying record on the Streets of Toronto, claiming pole for Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto.
In fact, every driver in the Firestone Fast Six broke the previous record. Newgarden, however, was the fastest of the bunch.
“We actually felt really confident from this morning,” Newgarden said, among the fastest practice session runners despite a late spin.
As light rain continued to sprinkle onto the track surface, teams were kept on their toes. Newgarden pushed through it, despite the feeling that they could have achieved something more.
“I felt like we had a car that was capable of pole in dry conditions,” he said. “The thing about Toronto is this place grips up more than any other street course we go to. That’s why our lap times have been so quick… If it was dry, I think we probably would have gotten into the fifty-sevens, which is really quick.”
“It’s fun to drive, but it beats you up.”
A push to the line decided the pole position as each car that came through bested the previous driver, with Newgarden ultimately coming out on top. His last flying lap, which saw him brush the wall in Turn 8, knocked Scott Dixon off of the pole. Despite the strong start, Dixon was unhappy losing out on the pole to his championship competitor.
“I think we were on a really big lap on the last one there, and messed it up pretty good in T5 and had to abort,” “Starting on the front row is still a good spot, I think we’ve got a good chance. The car has been fast all weekend. Still disappointed with that.”
Takuma Sato posted a surprising run, missing the Fast Six on a P7 run despite leading the final practice session Saturday morning.
Hometown favourites James Hinchcliffe and Robert Wickens improved from practice pace, qualifying P9 and P10 respectively. Behind them, Conor Daly – in for a one-off start with Harding Racing – qualified P11.
Spencer Pigot, who also boasted a consistently fast weekend, failed to advance past the first round of qualifying. He pointed to the light rain on the track to the missed opportunity.
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