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CART: Da Matta takes first front row starting spot at Toronto

16 July 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

- Cristiano da Matta's second-place in qualifying is the best of his Champ Car career - and makes it the third time in the last four races that he's matched or bettered his personal qualifying best.

- For da Matta, it's the fourth consecutive top-10 qualifying position for the 1998 Indy Lights champ. He has a second, a fifth, a sixth and a ninth in the last four races.

- A Toyota has qualified on the front row for each of the three street races this season - with Jimmy Vasser second at Long Beach, Juan Montoya on the pole at Detroit and da Matta second today in Toronto.

- Juan Montoya put his Toyota-powered Target Lola into the second row and will start directly behind da Matta.

- For the third consecutive race, a PPI car was the highest qualifying Toyota after Oriol Servia took the honor at Portland and da Matta at Cleveland.

- Montoya's fourth in qualifying continues a streak that has seen him qualify in the top eight for every race this season and in the top six for nine of 10 nine races.

- With da Matta second in qualifying, three PPI Motorsports cars have grabbed front row positions at Toronto after Andrew Bordin won the pole position for Sunday's Toyota Atlantic Championship race, followed closely by teammate Daniel Wheldon.

Toyota Toronto Qualifiers:

#97 Cristiano da Matta 2nd
#1 Juan Montoya 4th
#96 Oriol Servia 11th
#12 Jimmy Vasser 13th
#10 Norberto Fontana 22nd

Text provided by Toyota

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