Da Matta confident ahead of British round

The Brazilian said he was enjoying his experience at the British oval much more than he did a year ago, when he and the Newman/Haas team battled a poor-handling car. Da Matta's oval woes continued into the first part of 2002, but he showed improved competitiveness at Milwaukee before qualifying third and winning at Chicago.

"That proves we figured out our oval set-up," said da Matta. "All I could remember was the feeling from last year, and I was a bit concerned coming in. To run good this morning was a bit of a relief. It was good, because we worked hard to make that improvement."

Cristiano admitted that his 52-point championship lead factored into his decision not to go for broke during his qualifying run.

He said: "I'm happy with third, especially since the guys I am fighting in the championship are behind me. I felt like I had a car that could get the pole, but it's a 500-kilometer race with four pit stops and things can go a lot of different ways. I'm confident, but I don't want to make any predictions."