Qualifying: Sato takes second pole of 2019 in Texas

Qualifying: Sato takes second pole of 2019 in Texas

Published on 08 Jun 2019 02:04

By: Fergal Walsh

Takuma Sato has taken his second pole position of the 2019 season, as he set the best two-lap average speed in Texas on Friday evening.

The Japanese driver last claimed pole position in Alabama, going on to win the race for Rahal Letterman Lannigan Racing.

Sato's average read a 220.250 mph, which was enough to beat Chip Ganassi's Scott Dixon to the top spot on the front row.

Dixon's average speed was a 220.162 mph, narrowly missing out on his first pole of the year.

Dale Coyne's Sebastien Bourdais managed the third fastest lap, edging out Ryan Hunter-Reay. Team Penske struggled throughout the session, with Simon Pagenaud ending up in fifth.

Pagenaud's teammates Josef Newgarden and Will Power were P7 and P15 respectively, with Power extremely unhappy with the balance of his car.

Spencer Pigot was sixth, lodged between Pagenaud and Newgarden. James Hinchcliffe had a strong run to end the session in eighth, ahead of Graham Rahal and the leading rookie Colton Herta.

One driver succumbed to the walls during the shootout, as Tony Kanaan drifted wide on the exit of Turn 2, forcing the No. 14 A.J. Foyt driver to abandon his run.

Marco Andretti also set a strong opening lap but got loose at the same corner which saw him correct the car multiple times, making him the slowest of the timed runners.

Conor Daly, who steps in for Max Chilton this weekend, was 19th fastest ahead of Andretti and the second A.J. Foyt car of Matheus Leist.

POS.	DRIVER	TEAM	SPEED
1.	POS. Takuma Sato	DRIVER Rahal Letterman Lanigan	TEAM 220.250
2.	POS. Scott Dixon	DRIVER Chip Ganassi Racing	TEAM 220.162
3.	POS. Sebastien Bourdais	DRIVER Dale Coyne Racing	TEAM 219.746
4.	POS. Ryan Hunter-Reay	DRIVER Andretti Autosport	TEAM 219.537
5.	POS. Simon Pagenaud	DRIVER Team Penske	TEAM 219.355
6.	POS. Spencer Pigot	DRIVER Ed Carpenter Racing	TEAM 219.099
7.	POS. Josef Newgarden	DRIVER Team Penske	TEAM 218.666
8.	POS. James Hinchcliffe	DRIVER Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	TEAM 218.459
9.	POS. Graham Rahal	DRIVER Rahal Letterman Lanigan	TEAM 218.449
10.	POS. Colton Herta	DRIVER Harding Steinbrenner Racing	TEAM 218.406
11.	POS. Alexander Rossi	DRIVER Andretti Autosport	TEAM 218.295
12.	POS. Zach Veach	DRIVER Andretti Autosport	TEAM 218.074
13.	POS. Ed Carpenter	DRIVER Ed Carpenter Racing	TEAM 217.982
14.	POS. Marcus Ericsson	DRIVER Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	TEAM 217.953
15.	POS. Will Power	DRIVER Team Penske	TEAM 217.899
16.	POS. Felix Rosenqvist	DRIVER Chip Ganassi Racing	TEAM 217.182
17.	POS. Charlie Kimball	DRIVER Carlin	TEAM 217.165
18.	POS. Santino Ferrucci	DRIVER Dale Coyne Racing	TEAM 217.063
19.	POS. Conor Daly	DRIVER Carlin	TEAM 216.175
20.	POS. Matheus Leist	DRIVER A.J. Foyt Enterprises	TEAM 215.093
21.	POS. Marco Andretti	DRIVER Andretti Herta	TEAM 206.901
22.	POS. Tony Kanaan	DRIVER A.J. Foyt Enterprises	TEAM 0.000