Conquest Racing’s Enrique Bernoldi to Start 11th in Edmonton

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.

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.

Best Lap Time: 1:02.0227 (114.519 mph)

Best Lap Time: 1:03.8572 (111.229 mph)

"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."

"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."

- Conquest Racing PR/Karina Redmond -