By claiming pole in series debut
source: F1-Live.com Newman/Haas Racing's rookie Sebastien Bourdais became the first rookie since Nigel Mansell to take the pole for his first ever CART race when he claimed the top spot for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Saturday, the race that will open the 2003 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. Bourdais claimed the top spot with a fastest lap time of 1:00.928 (106.710 mph) to best the 19-car field."I think it's a big satisfaction. I mean, to be on the pole at the first event has not been a thing we saw very much," Bourdais said. "Definitely, as Paul (Tracy) said, the car and the team is very experienced. The package was very good. Even if I'm young, I'll still be pretty much full of experience with different cars, like endurance cars, sports cars, experience in F1. But, no, I feel very proud. I just hope it will continue like this. I remember that Nigel did the first pole in his first race, but he also won the championship, so what I can expect is to do the same." The reigning FIA F3000 champion was not fazed by the rapidly- changing weather conditions, which went from bright sun in the morning to high winds and heavy cloud cover for the afternoon qualifying session. He held the pole for all but 60 seconds of the session after winning the provisional pole yesterday, giving it up briefly to Paul Tracy before reclaiming it with the session's quickest trip around the 1.806-mile circuit less than a minute later.
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