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Takuma Sato sets Detroit Grand Prix qualifying record to get pole

Posted at 11:56 AM, Jun 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-04 12:42:26-04

After winning the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 just a week ago, Takuma Sato will sit on the pole for the second Dual in Detroit race at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.

Sato set a qualifying record with a time of 1:13.6732, beating Graham Rahal's record time set on Saturday's qualifying session.

"My car was like a rocket out there," Sato told Brad Galli on pit lane shortly after qualifying. "Going through my (fast) lap, I mean, I gave 100 percent everything. There was nothing left on the inches. I was nearly hit the wall twice, but I was happy, I was confident. It's absolutely team credit."

Rahal, who won Saturday's race and led 55 of 70 laps, will start third.

Honda's have been very fast in Chevrolet's backyard, sweeping the podium on Saturday and also getting the top three qualifying spots with James Hinchcliffe starting third. He also finished third on Saturday.

Ryan Hunter-Reay will start next to Sato on the front row. He was in group one.

Cars in the first qualifying session didn't have as much green flag time as the second after Carlos Muñoz hit the wall in turn two early. That red-flagged nearly half of the session.

"It was a case where Group 1 only had the opportunity to run one or two laps on a set of tires," Hunter-Reay said. "Some guys didn't even get to get a lap in after the green. It's nice to start up front. We really didn't have a shot at pole. We'll take it and hopefully progress from there."

The second Dual in Detroit race will air at 3:30 p.m. on Channel 7.