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Vettel earns pole for F1 Italian Grand Prix

 
Published Sept. 8, 2013

MONZA, Italy — Formula One points leader Sebastian Vettel will start today's Italian Grand Prix from the pole after his qualifying lap of 1 minute, 23.755 seconds on Saturday, while Lewis Hamilton's bid for a fifth straight pole ended in disappointment and Fernando Alonso had a difficult session.

Vettel will be hard to stop after impressively securing his 40th career pole. The three-time defending series champion shares the front row with Red Bull teammate Mark Webber.

"Bit of a surprise to have both cars on the front row in a place where historically we've had bad years," said Vettel, whose win here in 2011 remains Red Bull's only podium at Monza.

Alonso will line up fifth and Hamilton placed 12th in his Mercedes for his worst qualifying performance this season.

Trucks: Ross Chastain took the pole for today's Fan Appreciation 200 at Iowa Speedway in Newton. He edged Erik Jones for the top spot with a lap at 137.147 mph on the 0.875-mile oval.

Grand-Am: Defending race winner Richard Westbrook took the pole for today's Rolex Sports Car Series race in Monterey, Calif.