Filed under: IRL

SAO PAULO (AP) -- Defending champion Dario Franchitti of Scotland won the pole position for the IndyCar season-opener on the streets of Sao Paulo on Sunday.

Franchitti clocked 1 minute, 27.7354 seconds at the 2.6-mile Anhembi temporary circuit. Alex Tagliani of Canada was second, 0.0322 seconds back, and Justin Wilson of England was 0.0829 behind in third.

Qualifying for the inaugural Sao Paulo Indy 300 was moved to Sunday after drivers complained on Saturday that the track's front stretch lacked enough grip to make racing safe. Grooves were added to the Sambadrome straightaway overnight to fix the problem.

It was the first time in IndyCar Series history that qualifying and the race were taking place on the same day.

Franchitti had struggled on the first day of practice on Saturday and was nowhere near the front with his Target Chip Ganassi car, but he recovered nicely in Sunday's session and will lead the pack in the first race of season.

 

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