In a neck-and-neck session that saw the top nine qualifiers only eight-hundredths of a second apart, David Brabham qualified the #9 Patrón Acura ARX-01b in fourth place in Sunday's starting line-up.
Despite a second row spot appearing to be a strong result on paper, however, Brabham voiced some disappointment when he got out of the green-and-black Highcroft Racing Acura.
"We had electrical issues and I didn't get any of the gear changes right," the veteran lamented, "I felt a little handicapped throughout my run and the trouble on this track is that, with the cars running so close, everything has to be precisely right.
"Unfortunately, with the electrical problems we had, I didn't know where to change gear, so it made it very difficult. It's a shame, because the car was good enough for pole. It's just bad luck that this problem only showed up in qualifying because, otherwise, the car was very fast. We were quite off pace yesterday, so hats off to the team for bringing the car up for today's result."
Co-driver Scott Sharp is driving at Miller Motorsports Park for the first time, and had his learning curve extended by Highcroft's development role with Acura.
"Because we're the chassis development team, we went through a number of items yesterday, and didn't spend the time dialling in the car like many of the other teams," the American revealed, "But we got a lot closer this morning. We made some great changes between the two practices today and David drove his tail off.
"The Michelin tyres are performing really well - we've got a lot of grip and they're staying consistent - but the grid is so close for tomorrow that every little piece has to be in place. I love this track though - the layout is challenging; there are both high- and low-speed corners, and hard braking spots, so it really serves up a lot variety."
