Will Power used his final flying lap to secure pole position for Sunday’s IndyCar race in Toronto.
Team Penske led every moment of the Fast Six, but for most of the session it was Juan Pablo Montoya who held the advantage.
The current points leader only lost his grip on first place in the final minute when team-mate Simon Pagenaud jumped ahead of him, but the Frenchman barely had time to register it before he himself was beaten by Power.
“We tried everything,” said Power.
“The last set-up was really good – we went towards what Montoya had, and it was a lot better. It was a very nice car towards the end.
“Starting on pole is great; it keeps me out of the mess early on, but IndyCar races are never straightforward.”
The all-Penske top three capped an all-Chevrolet top six, with Scott Dixon, Sebastien Bourdais and Luca Filippi rounding out the first three rows.
Quite a few drivers were left ruing what might have been after both of the opening sessions were shortened by stoppages.
Sebastian Saavedra was on target to progress from the first group when he spun in the final minute while sitting fourth-fastest.
He lost his two fastest laps, and James Jakes was promoted to the second round in his place.
The culprit in the second session was Rodolfo Gonzalez, who clattered into the wall with two minutes remaining.
The consequent loss of his two fastest laps had little impact on the Venezuelan himself, who was already last, but it cost several other drivers a final run on red tyres.
“It’s just the way this season has been rolling,” said Ryan Hunter-Reay, who was one of the victims.
“I thought we had a hood shot at advancing there; the car felt good. But then the red [flag] came out just as we put on the red tyres.
“Unfortunate, but that’s the way it goes.”
STARTING GRID:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 59.4280s | – |
| 2 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 59.6095s | 0.1815s |
| 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 59.6242s | 0.1962s |
| 4 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 59.8879s | 0.4599s |
| 5 | Sebastien Bourdais | KVSH Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 59.9012s | 0.4732s |
| 6 | Luca Filippi | CFH Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m00.2312s | 0.8032s |
| 7 | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 59.8940s | – |
| 8 | Takuma Sato | AJ Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Honda | 59.9500s | – |
| 9 | Tony Kanaan | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m00.0901s | – |
| 10 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Dallara/Honda | 1m00.1241s | – |
| 11 | Josef Newgarden | CFH Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m00.1323s | – |
| 12 | James Jakes | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Dallara/Honda | 1m00.4576s | – |
| 13 | Carlos Munoz | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 1m00.6849s | – |
| 14 | Jack Hawksworth | AJ Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Honda | 1m01.4569s | – |
| 15 | Charlie Kimball | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m00.8553s | – |
| 16 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 1m01.5959s | – |
| 17 | Sebastian Saavedra | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m00.9926s | – |
| 18 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 1m01.9907s | – |
| 19 | Conor Daly | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Dallara/Honda | 1m01.2543s | – |
| 20 | Stefano Coletti | KV Racing Technology | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m02.4000s | – |
| 21 | Tristan Vautier | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m01.5065s | – |
| 22 | Gabby Chaves | Bryan Herta Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 1m02.4016s | – |
| 23 | Rodolfo Gonzalez | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m05.0167s | – |
