Round Four of the IndyCar Series in Japan
source: Max d'Orsonnens
Patrick Carpentier will start from row seven for Saturday's Indy Japan 300 at
Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. The Canadian driver posted the 14th best lap time in
the single car qualifying session, driving around the 2.414-kilometre (1.5-mile)
oval track in 27.2551 seconds for an average speed of 323.107 km/h. Carpentier
was satisfied with the changes made to his car before the qualifying session. In
the practice session prior to qualifying, the Red Bull Cheever Racing driver
ended near the rear of the field in 21st place.
''Before qualifying, we seemed to be going backward every time we went out,''
Carpentier said. ''My teammate (Alex Barron) thought he found something that
improved the handling during the third practice, and the engineers decided to
take some of his set ups and put them on my car. This makes it more difficult to
go out and qualify well in just two laps when you don't know how the car is
going to react with last minute changes. But it went well. We are using new
dampers this weekend and they make the car more predictable. We had troubles
with handling on the first day because the springs were too hard. The rear of
the car was sliding a little too much for my taste. We are still learning how
the new dampers work, but I'm very confident for the race. I have to be patient
on this track and go easy with the car. Last year, eight drivers did not finish
the race.'' He will share row seven with Australian driver Ryan Briscoe.
His teammate Alex Barron finished 16th overall with a lap time of 27.3357
seconds (322.108 km/h). He will share the eighth row with Bryan Herta of the
United States.
Sam Hornish Jr. was fastest of the 23 drivers qualifying for Round 4 of the 2005
Indy Car Series. The American driver captured his first pole of the season, the
fourth of his IRL career with a lap time of 26.7276 seconds (329.496 km/h).
Sharing the front row with him (Hornish) will be Danica Patrick, who made
history by becoming the first woman to start a major single-seater race from the
front row of an IndyCar Series event since Sarah Fisher qualified second at
Richmond in 2003. The American driver posted her quickest lap in 26.7577 seconds
and held provisional pole for quite some time before Hornish came along. The
previous year, Sarah Fisher had won the pole in the Kentucky Speedway.
. Another American
driver, Scott Sharp, qualified third, ahead of Brazilian Helio Castroneves. The
third row belongs to British driver Dan Wheldon, the points' leader, and Tomas
Scheckter of South Africa.