Takuma Sato will start on the pole for Sunday's second race in the IndyCar Series doubleheader weekend at Detroit's Belle Isle Park after topping Helio Castroneves in qualifying.
For race 2, qualifying was split into two groups, based on Friday's practice times, for 12 minutes of track time each. The starting lineup was set by the group earning the pole, occupying the odd-numbered positions and the other group the even-numbered spots on the grid.
Sato and Castroneves ran in the second qualifying group, which was shortened to 6:57 of green flag due to an accident involving Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan-Hunter Reay.
Castroneves held the provisional pole after he made a lap around this 2.36- mile, 13-turn temporary street circuit in 1 minute, 16.3624 seconds, but Sato's final lap, occurring just before Hunter-Reay's incident, was clocked in 1:16.1371, earning him the pole.
Sato, the driver of the No. 14 Honda-power car for A.J. Foyt Racing, captured his second pole of the season and the fifth of his IndyCar career. He is the only one with multiple poles in the series this season.
James Hinchcliffe will start alongside Sato on the front row after he was quickest in the first qualifying group, posting a lap in 1:16.3739. Castroneves will roll off third and Mike Conway fourth.
Fifth through 10th will be: Ryan Briscoe, rookie Carlos Munoz, Simon Pagenaud, who won race 2 in Detroit last year, Will Power, the winner of the first race here on Saturday, Sebastian Saavedra and Josef Newgarden.
Hunter-Reay did not complete a lap during qualifying. He will start 21st. Scott Dixon, the defending IndyCar champion, will begin Sunday's 70-lap race from the rear of the 22-car field after finishing last in group 1 (1:19.4557).
Hunter-Reay also crashed on the final lap of race 1 and ended up finishing 16th. He enters race 2 with just a three-point lead over Power.
[SportsNetwork.com]
