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Current IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) earned pole postion for the upcoming Sao Paulo Indy 300 after an action-packed qualification in the streets of the Brazilian venue.

As expected, following modifications made to the tracks that allowed for faster speed, Hunter-Reay set a new track record of 1m20.4312s, still 0.3 seconds ahead of his team-mate EJ Viso.

Ganassi's Dario Franchitti was third fastest alongside local favorite Tony Kanaan (KV Racing), who had to enter the weekend with injuries on his right hand sustained during the Long Beach event.

Sao Paulo is Hunter-Reay's second consecutive pole (Photo: IndyCar)

Another Andretti ace, James Hinchcliffe ended up fifth while Franchitti's sidekick Scott Dixon was the last of the Fast-Six contenders.

But the story of the day was the elimination of both Penske drivers Will Power and Helio Castroneves in the opening phase.

Having chosen to start late in the session, they were unable to make a decent run when James Jakes's car broke down on the circuit and brought out the red flags.

Difficult weekend also for Tristan Vautier (Schmidt) he launched himself over the Turn 1 kerb and went straight into the Turn 2 wall during the first segment.

That brought out the red flag and the Frenchman was therefore stripped from his two best laps for causing the stoppage; the next qualifying phase was briefly delayed while the barrier was repaired.


Qualifying results - Sao Paulo (IndyCar)
1.Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1'20"4312 - Fast Six
2.Ernesto Viso (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1'20"7380 - Fast Six
3.Dario Franchitti (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 1'20"8922 - Fast Six
4.Tony Kanaan (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 1'20"9812 - Fast Six
5.James Hinchcliffe (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1'20"9893 - Fast Six
6.Scott Dixon (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 1'21"1183 - Fast Six
7.Sebastien Bourdais (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 1'20"8210 - Q2
8.Simona de Silvestro (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 1'20"9390 - Q2
9.Justin Wilson (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 1'21"0570 - Q2
10.Marco Andretti (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1'21"1716 - Q2
11.JR Hildebrand (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Panther - 1'21"2961 - Q2
12.Takmua Sato (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Foyt - 1'21"3618 - Q2
13.Oriol Servia (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Panther DRR - 1'21"7963 - Q1 Gr. 1
14.Ed Carpenter (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Carpenter - 1'24"0203 - Q1 Gr. 2
15.Alex Tagliani (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Herta - 1'21"8636 Q1 Gr. 1
16.Ana Beatriz (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 1'24"8864 - Q1 Gr. 2
17.Charlie Kimball (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 1'22"2482 Q1 Gr. 1
18.Helio Castroneves (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 1'25"1734 - Q1 Gr. 2
19.Graham Rahal (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 1'22"2998 Q1 Gr. 1
20Sebastian Saavedra (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 4'00"2612 - Q1 Gr. 2
21.Tristan Vautier (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 4'20"5417 Q1 Gr. 1
22.Will Power (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 4'05"5886 - Q1 Gr. 2
23.Simon Pagenaud (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 4'23"1097 - Q1 Gr. 2
24.James Jakes (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - no time - Q1 Gr. 2
25.Josef Newgarden (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Fisher - no time - Q1 Gr. 1*

*Penalized for engine change