TORONTO--source CART.com
Cristiano da Matta had the fastest time in the closing minutes of Saturday qualifying to edge Paul Tracy for the pole position for Sunday's Molson Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place. The race is Round 8 of the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series. Driving the Havoline Toyota/Lola, da Matta had a top time of 58.135 seconds, good for an average speed of 108.678 miles per hour. The provisional polesitter from Friday qualifying, da Matta's Friday time was first beaten by Newman/Haas teammate Christian Fittipaldi. Da Matta reclaimed the pole, but Tracy responded with a lap of 58.172 seconds (108.609 mph) in the KOOL Honda/Lola much to the delight of the Canadian crowd. But da Matta was not finished and replied with the top time of the weekend. Da Matta also earned another bonus point for being fastest in Saturday qualifying. He now leads fellow Brazilian Bruno Junqueira by a 97-70 margin. Tracy, the local favorite, wound up second fastest and will start alongside of da Matta for Sunday's race. After qualifying eighth Friday, Junqueira jumped up to third in the Target Toyota/Lola despite mechanical problems that kept him in the pits most of the session. With six minutes remaining, Junqueira returned to the track and was able to improve his grid position with a time of 58.256 seconds (108.452 mph). Junqueira's time dropped his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Kenny Brack down one spot after Brack had moved up to third with a time of 58.334 seconds (108.307 mph).Fittipaldi, briefly on the pole, wound up fifth at 58.477 seconds (108.042 mph) in the Lilly Toyota/Lola. Rounding out the top 10 were Dario Franchitti in the KOOL Honda/Lola, Shinji Nakano in the Alpine/Mitsuba Honda/Lola, Jimmy Vasser in the Shell Ford-Cosworth/Lola, Scott Dixon in the Target Toyota/Lola and Tony Kanaan in the Pioneer/WorldCom Honda/Lola. Defending race winner Michael Andretti continued to encounter problems and will start last. However, CART's winningest driver went from last to first to win last year's race here. A more detailed report on Saturday's activities will follow shortly. Cristiano da Matta topped Paul Tracy to hold onto pole position for Sunday's Molson Indy Toronto.
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