ESPN Champ Car

HOUSTON -- Bruno Junqueira didn't have the fastest qualifying lap Thursday night, but he did win the provisional pole for Saturday's Champ Car Grand Prix of Houston.

The 29-year-old Junqueira took the top spot in qualifying after Sebastien Bourdais, his Newman/Haas teammate and a two-time series champion, was disqualified when his Ford-Cosworth-powered Lola failed a technical inspection by Champ Car officials late Thursday night.

Bourdais had the fastest lap of provisional qualifying, rounding the 1.69-mile road course at Reliant Park in 102.927 mph. The violation disallowed his time, though, dropping him to the back of the first-day grid.

Junqueira's lap of 102.051 mph became the one that meant the pole.

Paul Tracy moved up to second in provisional qualifying, reaching 101.346 mph on a lap. Alex Tagliani was next, turning a lap at 101.321 mph.

The full field for Saturday's race will qualify on Friday. No matter what happens, Junqueira is guaranteed a front-row starting position for the race.

All the drivers are getting their first look at the course this week. The series is back in Houston for the first time since 2001, when it was held on a course that wound through downtown.

The racers had some criticisms for the new layout, set up on the giant parking lot next to the Astrodome and Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans.

Bourdais said the surface was so bumpy, it felt like driving on railroad tracks.

"We're actually damaging the chassis," he said.

Bourdais toured the track in April and recommended changes. He discovered on Thursday that nothing had been done.

"I said, 'This place is going to need extensive grinding,"' he said. "I guess I've not been heard.

"It's a shame. This place is just beautiful. It has everything it needs to be one of the best street courses we've ever had. Unfortunately, it's bumpy enough that it ruins the attraction."

At the request of several drivers, a crescent-shaped chicane of orange cones was placed near the sharp second turn, which was set up without a straight-line runoff. The barrier forces the racers to slow down, bend around the barrier and make the dangerous turn at a safer speed.

"It's unfortunate the track was designed the way it was," said Tracy. "It's very frustrating that you show up here and they put a corner right in front of a building with no runoff. We had to makeshift this chicane that is so slow, it really doesn't do any justice for the cars at all."

Despite the gripes, the drivers know that since none of them have raced here before, no one is a real favorite in Saturday's main event.

"It's a new track for everybody, so that should level the playing field," said rookie Katherine Legge, whose eighth-place finish in Long Beach was the highest ever by a female on the circuit.

Dan Clarke hit the wall in qualifying on Thursday, but climbed out of his wrecked Lola and walked away on his own power.

There were a total of four red flags in the final few minutes of Thursday's qualifying.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press