Is pole the goal?

With a glance at recent qualifications results, it might appear the Teter women’s team makes it a primary goal to take the pole position, which it has done the past three years.

But senior Teter rider Julie Bembenista said that isn’t their aim.

“We’ve been on the pole the last three years, and each year it has not been a goal,” Bembenista said. “We just go out and tell ourselves, ‘We want to do the best we can.’”

For many top teams, Saturday’s qualification day at Bill Armstrong Stadium will be more about positioning than pole-winning.

No men’s team has won the race from the pole position in the past 11 years — the
1998 Dodds House team was the last to start and finish the race in first place. On the women’s side, Kappa Kappa Gamma was the last team to win the race from the pole in 2004.

“Positioning for qualifications is only going to matter for the first lap or two in the race,” Bembenista said. “There are 98 laps remaining after that, so it’s not that big of a deal.”

Bembenista has first-hand experience of the race-day struggle from the pole position. Last year, the team botched a mid-race exchange and mustered a seventh-place finish. In the 2007 and 2008 races, the pole-winning Teter team finished second in the race.

In last year’s men’s race, pole-winner Phi Delta Theta suffered through two crashes and finished two laps off the pace in 15th place.

Despite the struggles from the pole position, teams still covet a top qualifying spot, including the pole position.

Senior Wing It rider Maria Srour said her team would love the pole position but would be satisfied with a spot near the front.

“We want to qualify in the front row,” Srour said. “If we don’t get that, we’ll be disappointed, but it’s not a big deal — we’ll still be in the race.”

Srour discussed positioning as much as she talked about winning the pole. Several recent races have featured a first-lap, first-turn crash. With three teams per row, qualifying spots such as fourth, fifth or eighth will likely leave those riders boxed in on the first turn — with a greater chance to be involved in such an early accident.

“You want to make sure you get out and you’re in the front of the pack,” Srour said. “Most crashes happen in the back, when you can’t get out. A lot of it depends on safety positioning, so that you’re in a strategic place where you’re not going to rub a wheel.”

Delta Tau Delta rider Jon Myrvold put qualifications in perspective, especially for the teams contending for a race-day win.

“Quals shows what teams are strong, but there’s a lot more that goes into the race than riding one lap and doing an exchange,” Myrvold said. “I think quals is a good indicator for who is preparing well for the race.”