Indycar Series leader Will Power is on a roll and eyeing a third straight Sao Paulo 300 title after edging out series champion Dario Franchitti to claim pole position.
The Australian will be out to secure a third consecutive race win in the fourth event of the 2012 series after clocking a lap time of 1m21.4045s on the 4km, 11-turn Anhembi circuit on the streets of South America’s biggest city, less than a twentieth of a second ahead of Franchitti.
New Zealander Scott Dixon, Franchitti’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, will start third.
It was Power’s second pole of the season and second consecutive in Sao Paulo.
“It was a good run,” Power said. “They were telling me it was going to be close. It’s satisfying when you get pole by such a small margin because you have to rag it so much to do that. It seems like very tough, close competition, which is typical of IndyCar. We’re just giving ourselves the best opportunity for the first corner.”
With Power’s teammate Helio Castroneves having won the season-opener in Florida, their Penske team is seeking a team-record fourth straight win to start the season, having also claimed every pole in 2012.
But, while Power secured pole with a Chevrolet engine in his Penske, six drivers using Honda engines – including Scotsman Franchitti – will start in the top 10.
It was the first time the cars were able to race after Honda was allowed to make changes to the turbochargers on its engines, giving the six teams using them an extra boost of power.
Honda was permitted to make the change after a three-person panel on Thursday upheld an IndyCar decision against an appeal by Chevrolet.
“Now they do have an advantage on us,” Power said.
James Hinchcliffe, Ryan-Hunter Reay and Justin Wilson rounded the fastest six in qualifying on Saturday.
Franchitti had been fastest in Saturday’s practice but made a mistake in qualifying that he said was costly.
“The car is very good,” he said. “I’m a little disappointed with myself – on that last lap, I made a mistake.”
Franchitti won the last three series titles but struggled at the start of the season, not finishing better than 10th.
Rain affected the first two races in Brazil, both won by Power. The inaugural event in 2010 was postponed for a day and, last year, the race was cut short.
“If it’s wet tomorrow, obviously that’s going to change everything,” Power said. “It’s not the average race. There are always position changing and different strategies, so we’ll see how it plays out and we’ll adjust accordingly.”
Lotus also is supplying engines to teams this season. IndyCar has multiple engine manufacturers for the first time in seven years.
