Schumacher takes 50th pole position
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher seized the 50th pole position of his Formula One career on Saturday in a qualifying session for the Japanese Grand Prix interrupted by Allan McNish crashing heavily.
Ferrari swept the front row for the second race in succession and sixth time this season with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello 0.432 of a second off Schumacher's time of one minute 31.317 seconds.
The final session of a championship dominated by the Italian team was halted for an hour after McNish's Toyota veered out of control and speared backwards through the metal barriers.
The rear of the car was destroyed but the lucky Scot clambered out of the smouldering wreckage, squatting shakily on an earth bank before waving to the crowd and being taken to the medical centre.
He was expected to race in Sunday's final round of an often processional championship that has seen television viewers around the world increasingly switching off as Schumacher and Ferrari have left their rivals trailing.
When the session resumed, normal service was resumed with Schumacher reeling off another quick lap to seal Ferrari's 10th pole position of the year.
McLaren's David Coulthard was third fastest, ahead of Finnish team mate Kimi Raikkonen.
Schumacher's younger brother Ralf was fifth quickest and starts alongside his Colombian team mate Juan Pablo Montoya on the third row.
Japanese fans had plenty to cheer as local hero Takuma Sato planted his Jordan on the fourth row with the seventh fastest lap.
McNish, preparing for his last race with Formula One newcomers Toyota and possibly the last Grand Prix of his career, lost control after the R130 curve.
"It was a very worrying accident," commented International Automobile Federation president Max Mosley. "When you have a really big one like that you need to be lucky as well as having a really strong car. Luckily he walked away."
The Scot did not return for the rest of qualifying but ended up with the 18th fastest time out of 20 cars in a race of just 10 teams, with struggling Arrows failing to turn up for the fifth grand prix in a row.
