Montoya wins fourth straight pole

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, England, July 6 (UPI) -- Colombian Juan Montoya wom his fourth straight pole on Saturday, claiming the top spot for Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit.

Driving a BMW, Williams posted a best time of 1 minute, 18.998 seconds at an average speed of 145.252 miles per hour. It was the eighth career pole for Montoya and his fifth this season out of a possible 10.

Montoya's latest pole came in dramatic fashion as he claimed it in the dying minutes of the session when he flew across the finish line after the checkered flag signaled the end of qualifying.

"I really do not know where this great result came from," Montoya said. "I was not expecting to get on the first row at all. We made quite a few changes to the car through qualifying and obviously it paid off."

By finishing in front, Montoya denied Rubens Barrichello, who was driving a Ferrari, his third pole of the season.

Barrichello's teammate Michael Schumacher placed third in a Ferrari and his younger brother Ralf Schumacher was fourth in a BMW.

"Of course I would have liked to be on the pole," Barrichello said. "But I have no complaints and it's good to be on the front row."

A four-time world champion, Michael Schumacher was relegated to the second row for the fourth time in the last five races.