Newman-Haas Starts Fast

The Newman-Haas Racing duo of Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Junqueira is considered the team to beat in the 32nd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday.

In first-round qualifying, at least, they lived up to the billing.

Bourdais, race winner last year and the reigning Champ Car World Series champion, won the provisional pole position Friday and Junqueira posted the second-fastest time.

Bourdais, born in France, ran a lap at 104.689 mph on the 1.97-mile, 11-turn seaside circuit that wraps around the city’s Convention Center and the Long Beach Arena.

“It was a good first run,” said Bourdais, 27, noting that he has never started the race from the pole. “We’ve always struggled here on the first day.”

Junqueira, preparing for his first Champ Car race since he was injured during the Indianapolis 500 last May, turned a lap at 104.587 mph.

“I’m very, very happy with the results today,” the 29-year-old Brazilian said. “I’m quite happy to be back.”

He was followed by last year’s pole-sitter and four-time Long Beach winner Paul Tracy, who ran 104.270 mph for Forsythe Racing.

Qualifying here is a two-day process and drivers will have 15 laps today to try to improve their speeds, after which the 18-car field will be set.

Because he had the quickest lap Friday, Bourdais is at least assured a spot on the two-car front row Sunday, no matter how fast he runs today. But he could lose the pole if another driver posts a faster qualifying speed today.

Junqueira broke two vertebrae in his accident at Indianapolis, but he reported no back problems Friday.

“I’m 100% recovered,” he said at a post-qualifying news conference with Bourdais and Tracy.

That prompted the 37-year-old Tracy to quip: “That car must really be good because my back is killing me.”

Near the end of the session, in a bid for more speed, Tracy slammed into the wall and broke his left rear wheel.

“I guess the old man is pushing hard to stay up with these young guys,” he said.

Katherine Legge, one of six rookies in the field, struggled in her qualifying debut. She was 15th-fastest, more than five seconds behind Bourdais.

“It was good to get the first qualifying session of the season underway,” said Legge, who drives for PKV Racing. “As long as we improve, then everyone will be happy.”

In qualifying for other races being held this weekend on the Long Beach course, Simon Pagenaud of Team Australia was the fastest in provisional qualifying for Champ Car’s Atlantic division. He turned a lap at 91.649 mph.

Professional drivers Todd Bodine and Johnny Greaves led qualifying for the pro/celebrity race, followed by actor-racer Patrick Dempsey and skateboarder Bucky Lasek.

Provisional lineup ... D10