Castroneves, Patrick among nine Indy 500 pole seekers

CHICAGO: Three-time winner Helio Castroneves led nine qualifiers Saturday for an Indianapolis 500 pole position battle, with Danica Patrick driving herself into Sunday’s pole fight for her farewell race.

A rain-interrupted first day of time trials at the famed 2/5-mile (4km) oval also saw 33 cars fill the field for the May 27 IndyCar classic, with Canada’s James Hinchcliffe -- the 2016 Indy pole starter -- and Britain’s Pippa Mann bumped from the lineup as the slowest qualifiers.

Brazil’s Castroneves, a former “Dancing With the Stars” champion seeking his fifth Indy 500 pole start, set the qualifying pace with a four-lap average of 228.919 mph in 2mins 37.2607secs. “I didn’t make many adjustments,” Castroneves said, adding the car “looks really strong. Right now, we’re working very well.”

The nine fastest cars got the chance to race again Sunday for the pole and to settle the grid for the first three rows.Joining Castroneves will be his three Penske Racing teammates -- Australian Will Power, France’s Simon Pagenaud and American Josef Newgarden -- and the all-American Carpenter Racing trio of Patrick, Ed Carpenter and Spencer Pigot, plus Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais and New Zealand’s Scott Dixon.

Patrick was the slowest of the top nine at 227.610 mph, her lap edging 10th-place Alexander Rossi by 0.0342 of a second for the last chance at pole.“I am very happy with this car,” Patrick said. “I am comfortable.” Patrick has had groundbreaking 20-year career, with the only IndyCar win by a woman at the 2008 Indy Japan 300 and the lone Indy 500 podium for a female racer at third in 2009. She has not raced in an Indy 500 since 2011 after switching to closed-cockpit stock cars but has made the most of her return to the Brickyard. “It’s unpredictable. It ebbs and flows here,” Patrick said. “You can go out one day and you’re good and you go out the next day, try some things and wonder how you lost your way. You have to respect that process about Indy.”

No racers had been bumped at Indy since 2011 but more than 33 cars entered this year and the drama saw Hinchcliffe and Mann caught out and Aussie James Davison, who recovered from a Friday practice crash, cling to the final spot in the race. Hinchcliffe, a “Dancing With the Stars” runner-up, was bumped by US pal Conor Daly with 20 minutes left to requalify.

Hinchcliffe felt a vibration in the car and pulled out of line to have it fixed while Mann tried to reclaim a spot but came up short. Time ran out with Mann on the track and Hinchcliffe unable to take a final crack at bumping Davison. England’s Mann, 34, made six prior Indy 500 starts with a best finish of 17th last year.