Wheldon Toronto final qualifying notes

Dan Wheldon will start today's seventh round of the 2001 CART Dayton Indy Lights Championship in Canada from third place on the starting grid in his Gemstar Communications PacWest Racing Lola-Buick.

The Englishman was disappointed not to be on the front row at the end of official qualifying -- having been fastest in both the unofficial practice sessions held on the 1.755-mile street circuit, just outside Toronto city centre.

Nevertheless, 23-year old Wheldon -- the highest placed rookie -- was only 0.176 of a second behind the polesitter, current Championship leader Townsend Bell, and 0.025 of a second behind his more experienced team-mate, Mexican MarioDominguez.

After qualifying, Dan Wheldon commented: "My car was very good for qualifying -- unfortunately the driver inside was not so good! I made some crucial mistakes during stages where I needed a perfect lap. Basically, I drove like a rookie today! I was able to get some pretty clean runs out there -- just not on my last lap, where I needed it. I still think I'm in a good position for the race.' 

-CSS