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James Hinchcliffe secures 2016 Indianapolis 500 pole

James Hinchcliffe claimed his maiden IndyCar pole position in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, a year on from a near-fatal crash at the track

The Canadian snatched top spot from Josef Newgarden, who was fourth out in the Fast Nine pole shootout and set an average lap speed of 230.700mph to top the timesheets.

The Andretti Dallara-Honda of Ryan Hunter-Reay challenged for pole by pumping in a string of hot 230mph laps before a small mistake on his final flyer put him just behind Newgarden.

Hinchcliffe, who had topped preliminary qualifying on Saturday, was the last driver out and a storming average speed of 230.760mph - just 0.060mph quicker than Newgarden - allowed him to snatch pole position.

The Canadian Schmidt-Peterson driver was unable to take part in qualifying last year after a heavy shunt in practice at the Brickyard left him hospitalised and out for the rest of the season.

On the second row for next Sunday's race will be Townsend Bell, Carlos Munoz and Will Power, while Mikhail Aleshin, championship leader Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves completed the pole shootout contenders.

Part-time competitor Oriol Servia topped the times in the first half of qualifying to decide positions 10-33, with a four-lap average speed of 229.060mph.

Alexander Rossi and Takuma Sato, both in Dallara-Hondas, qualified on the fourth row alongside Servia.

Remarkably no Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Chevrolets qualified in the Fast Nine, meaning the second day of qualifying was all about damage limitation for the team.

Scott Dixon did well to adapt to an engine change and finish 13th, while team-mates Charlie Kimball, Tony Kanaan and Max Chilton (in his rebuilt car following Saturday's shunt) qualified 16th, 18th and 22nd respectively.

Marco Andretti nursed a gearbox issue to qualify 14th despite not having fifth gear.

Juan Pablo Montoya meanwhile suffered a bizarre incident in which his first run was cancelled after an errant rubbish bag lodged in his wing on his third flying lap and left him at the tail of the field.

The two-time Indy 500 winner was allowed a second run, and eventually qualified 17th.

QUALIFYING RESULTS

Pos Driver Team Car Speed
1 James Hinchcliffe Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Dallara/Honda 230.760
2 Josef Newgarden Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 230.700
3 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 230.648
4 Townsend Bell Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 230.481
5 Carlos Munoz Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 230.287
6 Will Power Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 229.669
7 Mikhail Aleshin Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Dallara/Honda 229.562
8 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 229.139
9 Helio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 229.115
10 Oriol Servia Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Dallara/Honda 229.060
11 Alexander Rossi Andretti Herta Dallara/Honda 228.473
12 Takuma Sato AJ Foyt Enterprises Dallara/Honda 228.029
13 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 227.991
14 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 227.969
15 J.R. Hildebrand Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 227.876
16 Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 227.822
17 Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 227.684
18 Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 227.430
19 Sebastien Bourdais KVSH Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 227.428
20 Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 227.226
21 Gabby Chaves Dale Coyne Racing Dallara/Honda 227.192
22 Max Chilton Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 226.686
23 Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 226.436
24 Conor Daly Dale Coyne Racing Dallara/Honda 226.312
25 Pippa Mann Dale Coyne Racing Dallara/Honda 226.006
26 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Dallara/Honda 225.847
27 Matthew Brabham Team Murray Dallara/Chevrolet 225.727
28 Bryan Clauson Jonathan Byrd's Racing Dallara/Honda 225.266
29 Spencer Pigot Rahal Letterman Lanigan Dallara/Honda 224.847
30 Stefan Wilson KVSH Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 224.602
31 Jack Hawksworth AJ Foyt Enterprises Dallara/Honda 224.596
32 Buddy Lazier Lazier Burns Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 222.154
33 Alex Tagliani AJ Foyt Enterprises Dallara/Honda 0.000


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