SAO PAULO (AP) — Defending champion Dario Franchitti of Scotland has won the pole position for the IndyCar season-opener on the streets of Sao Paulo.
Franchitti clocked 1 minute, 27.7354 seconds at the 2.6-mile Anhembi temporary circuit on Sunday. Alex Tagliani of Canada was second, 0.0322 seconds back, and Justin Wilson of England was 0.0507 behind in third.
Qualifying for the inaugural Sao Paulo Indy 300 was moved to Sunday after drivers complained on Saturday that the track’s front stretch lacked enough grip to make racing safe. Officials added grooves to the Sambadrome straightaway overnight to fix the problem.
It was the first time in IndyCar Series history that qualifying and the race are taking place on the same day.
