TROIS-RIVIERES, Quebec -- After setting the fastest laps in both practice sessions, Frenchman Tristan Vautier earned the pole for the 60-lap Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières, setting an outright track record at 57.1394 seconds.

For the second year in a row, qualifying for the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières was decided by a two-segment knockout session, similar to the Firestone Fast Six in the IZOD IndyCar Series. The first segment was a 30-minute session in which all cars battled for the top six advancing spots. Vautier led that session with a lap of 57.5010 seconds, followed by Team Moore Racing's Gustavo Yacaman. Last year's pole sitter and race winner Esteban Guerrieri, and teammates Sebastian Saavedra and Carlos Munoz all advanced to the final segment.

QUALIFYING RESULTS

Segment 2 was a 10-minute shootout to decide pole position. Teams toyed with strategy for the first few minutes, and no cars went out on track until two minutes after the green flag dropped. Dempsey was the first car out.

"I think I went out with seven minutes left, and all the others out with around seven left," Guerrieri said. "The peak of the tires is at Lap 3 or 4, you know, and even if you are on a street course, there is a peak of the tire. The maximum grip is there and then it drops a little bit. So you sometimes you think that the track is going to get a little bit quicker, so you wait, but at the same time you're risking, because if one of the top six guys crashes, then you're out of luck. I just went when it felt right."

The top three drivers went under the standing outright track record set last year by Guerrieri at 57.4541 seconds. Vautier's pole time of 57.1394 is the new standard for drivers to beat in the 1:45 p.m. (ET) race Sunday afternoon. Edmonton race winner Munoz will start alongside him, followed by Yacaman, Guerrieri, Dempsey and Saavedra.

"After having done the two fastest times of practice, you are the target, especially if your pace is really, really good," Vautier said. "So everybody works hard to get up to you and you have to keep improving when your margin is smaller, so that was really the tough part. I’m glad the car stayed really good, and I’m going to have to put a lap together.

"It was so hard with the heat because the tires were going away quicker, even though the Firestone tires are so great. With the heat, the peak of the tires doesn’t stay very long, so it was important to put it together at the right time in the run, because after it was too late. We managed to do it, but we’ve got to keep working really hard tomorrow, keep improving to stay in front and hopefully do a great race tomorrow.”