British racer Pippa Mann has become the first woman to take pole position for a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which was built 101 years ago.
The 27-year-old from London set fastest time in qualifying for the Firestone Freedom 100 Indy Lights race, which is the official feeder category to Indy Racing League.
"I knew we had a quick race car, but I wasn’t expecting to be on pole position," said Mann, who races for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. "My dash wasn’t working and I had no idea what my speed was, so you can imagine how surprised I was to find out we were on pole!"
Mann started racing in karts, before contesting Formula Renault and Formula Renault 3.5, where she also set a pole position. She is in her second year of Indy Lights
She is the second female pole-sitter in Indy Lights history. Sarah McCune set the fastest time in 2005 at Chicagoland Speedway.
The Firestone Freedom 100 takes place later today (Friday). Four female racers will take the start of the main Indy 500 event on Sunday.
