De Ferran takes provisional pole

Gil de Ferran of Brazil set a track record today as he grabbed the provisional pole for Sunday's Grand Prix of Long Beach in California with a top speed of 111.313 miles per hour. De Ferran, driving a Reynard-Honda, had a top lap of 51.293 seconds on the 1.586-mile temporary street circuit. He bettered his own track record of 109.639 mph set last year. Qualifying will continue Saturday as Alex Zanardi guns for his CART record-setting seventh consecutive pole position. Zanardi finished third in qualifying today with a speed of 110.133 mph. He has started in the front row in 10 straight races. De Ferran is seeking his third career pole at Long Beach, the third of 17 races in the PPG Cart series.