Just as he did last year, Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe secured pole position for the first race of an Atlantic Championship double-header at the Rexall Edmonton Indy.
Driving the #3 machine for Forsythe/Pettit Racing, Hinchcliffe clocked a best lap of 1min 05.910secs to rack up his second pole of the season in Thursday afternoon's qualifying session, but hopes to improve on the third place he managed from that position in the first race of last year's Atlantic Edmonton double-header.
“Anytime you get a pole position, it's a great feeling,” Hinchcliffe said, “To do it on home soil, obviously, makes it that much more special. Frankly, I'm surprised to be up here. We weren't really running that well in the session. The car wasn't quite where I wanted it. I think we need to work on our race car over a long stint. We managed to put in one good lap, but it's a 50-minute race. We've got to be there at the end.”
Hinchcliffe is joined on the front row by American Jonathan Bomarito's Mathiasen Motorsports entry. Bomarito clocked a best lap of 1min 06.053secs to score his second front row start of the season.
“In a field that's this competitive, it's important to start up front,” the Californian said, “Being on the front row is a great feeling - it's nice to be at the sharp end of the grid again. It's been a rough last couple races but, as soon as we rolled the car out of the trailer for the first practice this morning, I knew it would be a good weekend. The guys are doing a great job. The car is running well, and we're looking forward to a good result.”
Starting third will be Carl Skerlong in the #14 Pacific Coast Motorsports car, the American having now qualified inside the top four for all four races thus far in 2008. He heads into Friday's race looking for his third straight podium result but still seeking his first career Atlantic victory.
![James Hinchcliffe - Forsythe Racing [Pic credit: TNT Images]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/459243.jpg)
