Weekend 1
On Saturday May 9, rain delayed the start of pole position time trials until 3:34 p.m. An abbreviated session saw only 9 cars finish qualifying runs. A. J. Foyt was the fastest of the nine, sitting on the provisional pole at 196.078 mph (315.557 km/h). Rain stopped qualifying for the day at 5:49 p.m., and pushed pole qualifying into the next day.
On Sunday May 10, pole position qualifying was scheduled to resume. Rain fell all afternoon, however, and canceled all track activity for the day. 27 cars were still eligible for the pole position, and the resumption of pole day qualifying was scheduled for the following Saturday.
Among the cars not yet qualified was Mario Andretti, who due in Belgium for the Grand Prix. His plans to put the car safely in the field on pole weekend were thwarted, and a contingency plan would have to be made.
Read more about this topic: 1981 Indianapolis 500, Practice and Qualifying, Time Trials
Famous quotes containing the word weekend:
“Weekend planning is a prime time to apply the Deathbed Priority Test: On your deathbed, will you wish you’d spent more prime weekend hours grocery shopping or walking in the woods with your kids?”
—Louise Lague (20th century)