Jarno Trulli salvaged what was shaping up to be a miserable weekend for the Toyota team by winning the pole on Saturday for the United States Grand Prix.
Trulli timed 1 minute, 10.625 seconds around the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to earn the first pole for Toyota. Earlier, teammate Ralf Schumacher wasn't medically cleared to race after his hard accident during a practice session.
"It has been a difficult time for everybody here," Trulli said. "For sure it is a mixed emotion weekend."
But the Italian driver gave Toyota something to briefly cheer about in its breakthrough fourth season in Formula One. Trulli, in his first season with the team, gave Toyota its previous best qualifying effort with a pair of seconds to open the season.
He finally earned his first pole of the season -- third career -- and first since the Belgium Grand Prix in 2004.
"I am really glad with the outcome today," said Trulli, third in the world championship standings. "But it is still kind of emotional."
Toyota quickly fell behind after Schumacher and test driver Ricardo Zonta both crashed in Friday practice. Both accidents were attributed to tire failure, leaving Michelin officials scrambling to figure out what was wrong with its tires.
Michelin officials said on Saturday they were trying to ship a fresh batch from its France warehouse to replace the rubber already on site in what the supplier called a safety precaution.
But other drivers using Michelin tires said they had no problem with their supply and thought Toyota's troubles may have stemmed from aggressive setups.
Either way, Trulli showed no fear on his tires, speeding around the 13-turn course and taking his Toyota to the top.
He then had to hold off late runs by Kimi Raikkonen and the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello to keep the top starting spot.
Raikkonen, the final driver to qualify and winner last weekend of the Canadian Grand Prix, almost snatched the pole away but finished second in a McLaren-Mercedes with a time of 1 minute, 10.694 seconds.
"Yes I am happy," Raikkonen said. "Of course, I would rather be in first place."
Jenson Button, the polesitter last weekend in the Canadian Grand Prix, qualified his BAR-Honda third.
Giancarlo Fisichella was fourth in a Renault, followed by Michael Schumacher, the two-time defending race winner. World championship points leader Fernando Alonso was sixth in a Renault.
Zonta, the replacement driver for Ralf Schumacher, wound up 13th.
"Yesterday's events mean this is not an ideal situation for the whole team, and I am especially sorry for Ralf," said Zonta, who was the first driver to attempt to qualify. "Of course, I'm glad to be back with a chance to race the car."
Zonta normally only practices a third car for Toyota on the opening day of Grand Prix events. That changed following Ralf Schumacher's accident.
Schumacher wasn't seriously injured when his car spun coming out of the final turn and backed into a part of the wall protected by the energy-absorbing SAFER Barrier.
The German driver appeared to be in pain when he climbed from the car, but medical personnel checked and released him. He later went to a local hospital to have his eye examined after complaining of an irritation.
When he arrived at the track on Saturday, an FIA medical delegate ruled that it would be unsafe for Schumacher to race because of the dangers another hard impact could cause. Schumacher sustained a serious concussion and two broken vertebrae in a similar accident here last season.
"This news is obviously very disappointing for myself and for the team," Schumacher said.
Juan Pablo Montoya, the fastest driver in three of the four practice sessions, followed Zonta out on the track for qualifying.
He was forced to qualify his McLaren-Mercedes early as punishment for his disqualification last weekend in Canada. With thousands of Colombian fans cheering him on, Montoya posted a lap that put him on top of the board.
It lasted just minutes, though, as the Renaults of Fisichella and Alonso both bested him on the speed chart.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Shahzad Khan was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
OBJECTIVE REACHED: ’Now for us, it’s about getting healthy, making sure everybody is ready to go, and we can ramp up,’ the Atlanta Hawks’ C.J. McCollum said after the game The Atlanta Hawks on Friday secured an NBA playoff berth with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Boston Celtics locked up the Eastern Conference second seed with a lopsided win of their own. C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 29 points for the Hawks, who came into the contest at sixth in the East and still in danger of falling into the play-in tournament that would see the seventh-through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff berths in each conference. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson scored 18 points apiece, and Dyson Daniels added a triple-double of 13
RSS