Will Power has again brought the Australian fans to their feet by claiming pole position for the Lexmark Indy 300 today on the Gold Coast, bringing Team Australia its first ever Champ Car pole. source: Team Australia Power earned Team Australia its first Bridgestone Pole Award since the creation of the outfit by Craig Gore and Derrick Walker at the start of 2005. The pole is the first for Walker since Gil de Ferren claimed pole in the Walker Racing Reynard for the Molson Indy Toronto on 17 July 1999. Power's first Champ Car pole came in emphatic fashion as the Australian again topped qualifying today. However it was Power's time from yesterday's qualifying session that proved the fastest time of the two sessions. The young driver from Toowoomba in Queensland was assured the accolade of becoming the first Australian since 1985 to start on the front row of a Champ Car race after being fastest yesterday. Power earned a further point by setting the fastest time in today's session and is now equal sixth with Bruno Junqueira in the championship on 177 points, as well as extending his lead in the Roshfrans Rookie of the Year standings to nine points over Dan Clarke. He then went one better by finishing today's session fastest in the #5 Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Lola, becoming the first Australian driver to start a Champ Car race from pole since Geoff Brabham earned pole for the Los Angeles Times 500 at Riverside in California on 30 August 1981. Power's team-mate Alex Tagliani put in a solid performance and will start tomorrow's Lexmark Indy 300 from inside the top 10. Tagliani was sixth in today's session and improved on his time from yesterday. Tagliani will start from ninth on the grid in his seventh Surfers Paradise start. Power will start alongside Sebastien Bourdais in tomorrow's race, with Paul Tracy third. Bourdais held the fastest time in today's session for a brief period, although that time was still not fast enough to eclipse Power's Friday pole time. The Frenchman then had his fastest time taken away and any chance of grabbing pole extinguished when he crashed heavily and brought out the red flag.
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