Sunday, August 18, 2002
Junqueira wins CART pole
Barrichello takes top spot for F1 race
The Associated Press
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. - After Bruno Junqueira hit the wall on his final qualifying lap Saturday, his smile seemed to leave his face for the first time since his arrival at Road America. But it didn't take long for it to return.
“I just love this place,” the defending race champion said after nipping CART series leader Cristiano da Matta for the pole for today's Motorola 220, despite the crash.
It came down to the final few moments of the 60-minute qualifying session, with Junqueira and fellow Brazilian da Matta battling for the top spot. Da Matta started the session on the provisional pole after a lap of 1 minute, 42.640 seconds at 141.980 mph Friday.
Da Matta was unable to improve, and Junqueira knocked his childhood friend off the top spot just one minute from the end of qualifying, with a lap of 1:42.151 at 142.659.
“The team told me it was the last lap and I was pushing very, very hard,” Junqueira said.
As he neared Canada Corner, between the 12th of 14 turns and one of the fastest on the course, Junqueira saw Shinji Nakano's car rolling slowly at the edge of the track.
“He got two tires into the gravel and I thought he would continue with speed,” Junqueira said.
Instead, Nakano slowed and pulled onto the track directly in front of the speeding Team Target car. As Junqueira darted to the right to avoid the slower car, he spun, slapped the tire barrier and came to rest on the track.
At that point, da Matta was the only driver with a chance to beat Junqueira.
“I was on my last lap and was going pretty good when my team told me Bruno was stopped on the track and there wasn't much room on either side,” da Matta said. “I had to slow down and that was it. It's disappointing.”
Junqueira, who started 10th here last year, won his second pole of the season and the third of his career. He said his Toyota-powered Lola sustained only minor damage and would be ready today.
“I won the first race of my career here last year and I really enjoy driving on this track,” Junqueira said.
FORMULA ONE: Rubens Barrichello edged Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher to claim the pole for today's Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.
Schumacher, the five-time Formula One champion who is seeking a record 10th victory of the season, had dominated the practice sessions, but Barrichello was quicker in the qualifying.
Barrichello, who spun out in his first run, had a fast lap of 1 minute, 13.333 seconds on the 2.47-mile Hungaroring circuit for his third pole of the season and sixth of his career.
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Junqueira wins CART pole
