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Colton Herta qualifies first in Toronto to become IndyCar’s first two-time pole winner this season


Colton Herta finally broke through.

After nine races in a row with nine different pole winners, the 22-year-old Californian became IndyCar’s first two-time pole winner this season. Herta hit a fast lap of 59.2698 seconds Saturday on Toronto’s bumpy, 11-turn, 1,786-mile interim, edging past six-time series champion Scott Dixon.

This is the ninth pole of Herta’s career and his first since the April race in Long Beach, California.

“It’s great when you get to drive a race car that you know you can get there, and yes, we put it all together,” Herta said. “Great car, amazing team.”

Herta is pretty good too.

He has won four races since the start of 2021 and seven times since entering full-time in 2019 _ all on the road. And earlier this week, Herta spent two days in Portugal testing cars for McLaren’s Formula One team.

But when he’s back in an IndyCar this weekend, it all feels and looks natural to Herta.

“I’m a bit worried about it maybe taking a session to get back to it,” he said. “But as soon as I got in the car, the seating position and everything was so different that it was almost like a light switch that just crossed my mind that this was an IndyCar. It could take a lap or two. Style The actual driving isn’t too different, so the commute is pretty seamless.”

It definitely comes out like that.

Dixon is in second place with 59.3592, just behind after taking the first pole outside of the Indianapolis 500 since 2016. And all it takes is a slight miss.

“Probably over-attacked in the last round there, took quite a while on (turn) six,” said Dixon. “There are always things you can improve on. Congratulations Colton, it was a great lap. Looking forward to starting from the front and hoping for a clean day. ”

New Zealand driver Chip Ganassi Racing needs one more win to overtake Mario Andretti (52) for second place on the series’ career list. A win would also put Dixon back into competition for a potentially record seventh series crown, matching AJ Foyt.

Two-time series winner Josef Newgarden will start third after going 59.5257 despite knocking over the wall on the sixth turn before parking the Chevrolet #2. The Penske team also scrambled to change Newgarden’s engine midway through practice. morning and at the start of the qualifying round.

Newgarden is third in points, behind Marcus Ericsson, who will start ninth.

Rookie David Malukas has the opportunity to become the 10th driver in 10 races to win the pole. Instead, he will start in career-best fifth place in his first race to be held in Toronto since 2019.

MOVE ON

Herta will be joined near the front of the 25-car field by teammate Alexander Rossi of Andretti Autosport. The 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner made it through to the fourth qualifying round, a run that could finally end the public spat between Rossi and teammate Romain Grosjean since the two crashed at Mid-Ohio.

Team owner Michael Andretti held a meeting with all of his drivers after the race, but the dispute continued to simmer over the weekend before the series went down. Herta said: “ Last weekend was a nightmare for us as an organization, quite a shame. “ But it would be nice if we could do that. Glad everyone has created and is no longer in that mindset. It’s a good way to regroup. ”

PALO’S PROBLEM

Dixon’s strong performance could also help his team overcome another distraction, Tuesday’s double announcement from Chip Ganassi Racing and McLaren that defending series champion Alex Palou will compete with them on year 2023.

The first Spaniard to win the title insists he will not let the problem affect his results this weekend. But he crashed during morning practice and reached the 22nd standard after his stopped car carried a red flag in qualifying.

OTHER PROBLEMS

The start of Saturday morning’s training session was delayed by about 30 minutes at the start because of a previously scheduled incident. Palou and Newgarden didn’t do much either.

Palou damaged the left side of his No. 10 Honda by hitting a concrete wall on the third turn and again on the fourth turn after just seven laps. He is racing for the first time in Toronto.

After a round of Newgarden practice, the oil pressure alarm went off. A few minutes later, Chevrolet No. 2 was towed to the garage. Newgarden has won the Toronto championship twice.

They’re not the only team scrambling to get qualifying cars ready. Two-time Indy 500 champions Takuma Sato of Japan and Grosjean of France also crashed. Only Newgarden made the penalty shootout.

Canadian driver Devlin DeFranceco,



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