Conquest Racing’s Enrique Bernoldi scored his best start on a road or street course in a Dallara with an 11th place in today’s qualifying session for the Rexalll Edmonton Indy which takes place tomorrow, Saturday, July 26 at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. His teammate Jaime Camara registered the 25th quickest time with a lap of 1:03.8572 (111.229 mph) but ended up 27th due to the IndyCar Series qualifying format.
It was the first time this season that Bernoldi made it into Segment 2 of the IndyCar Series qualifying procedure, thus ensuring him a top-12 start (Bernoldi started 8th in the Champ Car finale in Long Beach ). Bernoldi who went out in Group 2 made it into the second round with a time of 1:02.0436. Shortly after ensuring his spot in Segment 2, the Brazilian was back on-track. He quickly scored a lap of 1:02.0227 (114.519 mph) which was good enough to place him 11th on tomorrow’s starting grid.
The green flag will drop on the Rexall Edmonton Indy tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. eastern time and will be broadcast live on ESPN.
IndyCar Series Qualifying Procedure
The field is separated into two groups with each group getting 20 minutes of track time. The top-six drivers of each group move on to Segment 2, while the remainder of the drivers form the field from 13th to the end of the starting field. Group 1 drivers take the odd-numbered positions starting from position 13 and the group 2 drivers take the even-numbered positions starting from position 14. Positions 7 through 12 are determined in segment 2 in which the 12 drivers get 15 minutes of track time. Once again the top-six drivers of that group move on to the 10-minute Firestone Fast Six session which determines the first six starting positions.
Conquest Racing Qualifying Results
11th - Enrique Bernoldi #36 Sangari Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Best Lap Time: 1:02.0227 (114.519 mph)
27th - Jaime Camara #34 Sangari Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Best Lap Time: 1:03.8572 (111.229 mph)
Conquest Racing Quoteboard
Enrique Bernoldi #36 Sangari Dallara/Honda/Firestone
“We had a difficult morning but we made a lot of improvements heading into qualifying. The car surprised me when I first went out on track with it. I was pushing hard out there but I have to thank my engineer ( Brandon Fry ) because he made the car fast. I think it’s a big boost for the whole team that I could be in Segment 2. I think I could have been a little bit quicker but I don’t think I would have made up any positions.”
Jaime Camara #34 Sangari Dallara/Honda/Firestone
“This qualifying format is good for some people but for me it has not been much help. I always end up lower than where I would have been on speed. But I guess that’s the way it is. The team’s been doing a great job as I continue to learn and progress on this type of track. I’m hoping for a strong race tomorrow and to make up a lot of spots like in Mid-Ohio.”