Toronto, Canada (My Sportsbook) - Defending champion Justin Wilson grabbed the pole on his final lap and will start out front for Sunday's Molson Grand Prix of Toronto. The No.9 RuSport driver circled the 1.755-mile, 11-turn, temporary street course in 58.182 seconds (108.590 m.p.h.). The pole earns Allmendinger one championship point. It is his first pole of 2006 and the third of his Champ Car career. Starting on the front row with the former Formula One driver will be American A.J. Allmendinger, winner of the last two Champ Car events. While Wilson is the defending champion, Sebastien Bourdais remains the favorite after winning the first four events of 2006. He finished 18th last week, but expect a big rebound effort from Bourdais. Not since 2003 has the Frenchman had back-to-back races outside the top-10. Bourdais still leads the championship, by 25 points over Wilson (166-141). But with two consecutive wins at Portland and Cleveland, Allmendinger (136) has closed to within 30 points of the two-time defending series champion. Bourdais (58.345) will start third on the grid in row two with long-time nemesis Paul Tracy (58.576). The top qualifying rookie was Will Power, who will start 12th in the 17-car field. The race is set to begin on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (et). |
