Ferrucci beats Power to Portland pole
Will Power has been denied IndyCar Portland pole by Santino Ferrucci as Scott McLaughlin battled in qualifying.
Ferrucci scored a breakthrough maiden IndyCar pole in his very first Fast6 appearance with a 58.2046.
It was a tenth better than Power and Alex Palou, while McLaughlin could only manage 14th.
“I mean, this is definitely one of the greatest days of my career,” Ferrucci said.
“In qualifying, too, it’s so tight. This series is so incredible talented.
“To be doing this today is such a feat for us and the team, and shows how hard we’ve been working.
“I can’t thank everybody enough for believing in me.”
Power lamented one mistake, which he feels could have been the difference.
“I made one mistake in turn 12. I dropped the wheel off which lost me a bit over a tenth, so (Santino Ferrucci)’s lap was very, very good,” the Aussie said.
“All in all, stoked to get through the Fast Six. I really wanted pole because it helps so much not getting caught up in that first corner.
“But, it’s great to be on the front row with somewhat of a teammate. Obviously, with Santino, we share information some, so we can start about the start.
“Ultimately, just have to keep finishing ahead of (Alex) Palou. He’s right there.
“Obviously, I can be a bit more aggressive than he can on the start. I have less to lose than he does, so we’ll just focus on trying to win the race.”
After topping practice, McLaughlin was disappointed to be 14th with traffic not going his way.
“Our car was good now, I just didn’t find the gap where I should have,” he said.
“Pretty disappointed for everyone on the Freightliner Chevy.
“Our car was quick. You just can’t afford to just be, even if the car is a second in front of you, it’s disturbs it enough to slow it down.
“I’m bummed with that because we have a car good enough for pole, but I’m just going to have to do it the hard way.”
The race begins at 5.00 AEST Monday morning.
IndyCar Portland qualifying results
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