Gil de Ferran Takes the Pole in Detroit

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Gil de Ferran Takes the Pole in Detroit
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
Second pole of the year for Walker Racing
Gil de Ferran's recent mastery of PPG CART World Series road course qualifying continued Saturday as he captured the pole position for Sunday's ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix at The Raceway on Belle Isle.
De Ferran (Valvoline/Cummins Special Reynard Honda) averaged a record 109.483 mph on his quickest trip around the 2.1-mile temporary street circuit, eclipsing the track standard of 108.664 mph established Friday by Scott Pruett (Brahma Reynard Ford). The pole was the fourth of de Ferran's career and his second of the season. He also topped qualifying at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in April, the most recent road course event in the PPG CART World Series.
"Really, ever since we arrived Friday, I've been reasonably happy with the car," said de Ferran, who has earned all four of his PPG CART World Series career poles (1995-Cleveland, 1996-Long Beach, 1997-Long Beach and Detroit) on temporary street circuits. He had qualified a provisional sixth Friday afternoon. "The track was a little quicker this afternoon and together with the improvement of the car we were able to do a good lap time."
"This is the kind of track where it's hard to make up time in one particular corner. You have to get a rhythm going and keep improving it. The way we planned the session worked quite well."
The pole is Walker Racing's second here at the Raceway on Belle Isle. In 1995, then team driver Robby Gordon won the pole and went on to win the race. At that time, Walker's pole with Gordon marked the first time in six years (back to 1989) that a team other than Newman/Haas Racing won a pole in Detroit.
De Ferran's pole Saturday marked the second year in a row at Detroit that Friday's overnight pole-sitter did not retain the pole on Saturday. In 1996, LCI Lola Honda driver Andre Ribeiro was on Friday's provisional pole only to be bumped by none other than Pruett on Saturday.
Although he was the one to get bumped this year, Pruett nonetheless makes his first front-row start since last year at Portland, where he started second. He earned his first career pole position at the 1996 ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix.
"We missed the setup just slightly," Pruett said. "We couldn't get the setup we wanted. In qualifying, you've got to walk on the edge. Sometimes you step over, but you have to do those sorts of things if you want to qualify at the front."
Third on the grid went to Roberto Moreno (Kmart/Budweiser Swift Ford) who qualified at 109.400 mph (1:09.104). Alex Zanardi (Target Reynard Honda HRR) qualified fourth at 109.268 mph (1:09.188) and rookie Dario Franchitti (Hogan Reynard Mercedes-Benz) was an impressive fifth at 109.111 mph (1:09.287).
Michael Andretti, Greg Moore, Mauricio Gugelmin, Bryan Herta and Mark Blundell rounded out the top 10. Including Bobby Rahal's 11th place qualifying effort, Reynards filled nine of the top-11 qualifying spots while Swifts held the other two.
PPG Cup points leader Paul Tracy could do no better than 12th on the grid in his Penske Mercedes-Benz at and average speed of 107.871 mph (1:10.084). His teammate Al Unser Jr. qualified 16th behind Jimmy Vasser, Raul Boesel and Parker Johnstone.
Source: CART News Service


		JUST RELEASED! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		Gil de Ferran Takes the Pole in Detroit ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Second pole of the year for Walker Racing Gil de Ferran's recent mastery of PPG CART World Series road course qualifying continued Saturday as he captured the pole position for Sunday's ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix at The Raceway on Belle Isle. De Ferran (Valvoline/Cummins Special Reynard Honda) averaged a record 109.483 mph on his quickest trip around the 2.1-mile temporary street circuit, eclipsing the track standard of 108.664 mph established Friday by Scott Pruett (Brahma Reynard Ford). The pole was the fourth of de Ferran's career and his second of the season. He also topped qualifying at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in April, the most recent road course event in the PPG CART World Series. "Really, ever since we arrived Friday, I've been reasonably happy with the car," said de Ferran, who has earned all four of his PPG CART World Series career poles (1995-Cleveland, 1996-Long Beach, 1997-Long Beach and Detroit) on temporary street circuits. He had qualified a provisional sixth Friday afternoon. "The track was a little quicker this afternoon and together with the improvement of the car we were able to do a good lap time." "This is the kind of track where it's hard to make up time in one particular corner. You have to get a rhythm going and keep improving it. The way we planned the session worked quite well." The pole is Walker Racing's second here at the Raceway on Belle Isle. In 1995, then team driver Robby Gordon won the pole and went on to win the race. At that time, Walker's pole with Gordon marked the first time in six years (back to 1989) that a team other than Newman/Haas Racing won a pole in Detroit. De Ferran's pole Saturday marked the second year in a row at Detroit that Friday's overnight pole-sitter did not retain the pole on Saturday. In 1996, LCI Lola Honda driver Andre Ribeiro was on Friday's provisional pole only to be bumped by none other than Pruett on Saturday. Although he was the one to get bumped this year, Pruett nonetheless makes his first front-row start since last year at Portland, where he started second. He earned his first career pole position at the 1996 ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix. "We missed the setup just slightly," Pruett said. "We couldn't get the setup we wanted. In qualifying, you've got to walk on the edge. Sometimes you step over, but you have to do those sorts of things if you want to qualify at the front." Third on the grid went to Roberto Moreno (Kmart/Budweiser Swift Ford) who qualified at 109.400 mph (1:09.104). Alex Zanardi (Target Reynard Honda HRR) qualified fourth at 109.268 mph (1:09.188) and rookie Dario Franchitti (Hogan Reynard Mercedes-Benz) was an impressive fifth at 109.111 mph (1:09.287). Michael Andretti, Greg Moore, Mauricio Gugelmin, Bryan Herta and Mark Blundell rounded out the top 10. Including Bobby Rahal's 11th place qualifying effort, Reynards filled nine of the top-11 qualifying spots while Swifts held the other two. PPG Cup points leader Paul Tracy could do no better than 12th on the grid in his Penske Mercedes-Benz at and average speed of 107.871 mph (1:10.084). His teammate Al Unser Jr. qualified 16th behind Jimmy Vasser, Raul Boesel and Parker Johnstone. Source: CART News Service