TROIS-RIVIERES, Quebec -- After setting the fastest laps in both practice sessions, Frenchman Tristan Vautier earned the pole for the 60-lap Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières, setting an outright track record at 57.1394 seconds.
For the second year in a row, qualifying for the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières was decided by a two-segment knockout session, similar to the Firestone Fast Six in the IZOD IndyCar Series. The first segment was a 30-minute session in which all cars battled for the top six advancing spots. Vautier led that session with a lap of 57.5010 seconds, followed by Team Moore Racing's Gustavo Yacaman. Last year's pole sitter and race winner Esteban Guerrieri, and teammates Sebastian Saavedra and Carlos Munoz all advanced to the final segment.
Segment 2 was a 10-minute shootout to decide pole position. Teams toyed with strategy for the first few minutes, and no cars went out on track until two minutes after the green flag dropped. Dempsey was the first car out.
The top three drivers went under the standing outright track record set last year by Guerrieri at 57.4541 seconds. Vautier's pole time of 57.1394 is the new standard for drivers to beat in the 1:45 p.m. (ET) race Sunday afternoon. Edmonton race winner Munoz will start alongside him, followed by Yacaman, Guerrieri, Dempsey and Saavedra.
Qualifying Segment #1
2:30 p.m. - GREEN for 30-minute Segment 1.
2:40 p.m. -- No. 27 Sebastian Saavedra is fastest with a time of 58.412 seconds. He has a .203 gap on No. 77 Tristan Vautier.
3:00 p.m. - CHECKERED. No. 77 Vautier (57.502), No. 2 Gustavo Yacaman (57.742), No. 11 Esteban Guerrieri (57.766), No. 27 Saavedra (57.817), No. 26 Carlos Munoz (57.846) and No. 9 Peter Dempsey (57.892) advance.
Qualifying Segment #2
3:05 p.m. - GREEN for 10-minute Segment 2.
3:07 p.m. - First car out is No. 9 of Peter Dempsey.
3:08 p.m. - All six cars out on track.
3:10 p.m. - No. 77 Tristan Vautier is fastest, followed by No. 9 Dempsey, No. 2 Gustavo Yacaman, No. 26 Carlos Munoz, No. 27 Sebastian Saavedra and No. 11 Esteban Guerrieri
3:11 p.m. - Gustavo Yacaman is fastest with a lap time of 57.362, a new outright track record.
3:13 p.m. - Vautier is fastest with a lap time of 57.139, a new outright track record.
3:15 p.m. - CHECKERED. Vautier is fastest with a lap time of 57.1394, followed by Munoz (57.2005), Yacaman (57.3530), Guerrieri (57.4847), Dempsey (57.5743) and Saavedra (57.6820).
