Rookie sensation Dixon on Lights pole

New Zealander Dixon, 19, is the youngest polesitter in a Lights race since Greg Moore in 1994.

'This is quite a relief, especially after all the bad luck we've had recently,' he said. 'The season started well but since then I've made some mistakes and some others on the team have made some mistakes. But for a first year, it's gone pretty well and it's nice to come back to get the pole here.'

Behind Dixon and Smith, Mexican Mario Dominguez is 3rd, ahead of points leader Oriol Servia. His Dorricott Racing team-mates Casey Mears and Phillipp Peter line-up 6th and last respectively, the latter unable to get his car handling right all weekend.

Also in trouble is newcomer Boris Derichebourg. The ex-Formula 3000 driver will miss this race after slamming his PacWest Lola into the turn two wall. He was taken to hospital for precautionary scans but is said to be okay.

Starting line-up for Mi-Jack 100 in Chicago: