Photo by: Eric Gilbert
FIRESTONE FAST SIX QUALIFYING REPORT
IZOD IndyCar Series - Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
Infineon Raceway - Sonoma, Calif.
Saturday, August 27, 2011 - Round 13 of 17
"Firestone Fast Six" Qualifying Results (mph): 1. Will Power (105.479); 2. Helio Castroneves (104.825); 3. Ryan Briscoe (104.799); 4. Dario Franchitti (104.753); 5. Scott Dixon (104.432); 6. James Hinchcliffe (104.346).
Firestone qualifying recap: In the first three sessions of knockout-style qualifying, all cars used a new set of alternate red sidewall tires. In the Firestone Fast Six, each car was equipped with used alternate tires. The alternate tire is new for this season and is making its debut this weekend at Infineon Raceway. Will Power claimed his sixth pole of 2011.
Qualifying temperatures: Track temperatures ranged from 108° - 112° F (42° - 44° C) and ambient temperatures from 74°- 79° F (23° - 26° C).
From pole winner Will Power, #12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "Qualifying on the pole is important, because it's really tough to pass here. I'm happy that we got a Team Penske 1-2-3. We've worked hard, and we came here with a good car, and this is the result. The Firestone tires are fantastic this weekend. There's a big difference between the primaries and alternates, and the alternates really hooked the car up."
From Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing: "After this morning's practice, it was clear that the alternate tires were significantly faster than the primaries. This parallels last year's race here, where the alternates were quite a bit quicker than the primaries but did not last quite as long. Many fans had been hoping to see that again with this year's tire specifications, since it made the race more interesting, so it looks like our engineers have hit a good note. Based on last week's test and this weekend's practice sessions, we know the primaries will hold up really well. Tomorrow will be a test of the alternates on a full race stint, and as we've seen in the past some drivers will get better wear out of the alternates than others, it just remains to be seen which drivers!"
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