WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) – The torn-up cars strewn among the team transporters behind pit road told the story: The Milwaukee Mile is being very unkind to drivers in the Champ Car World Series.

The open-wheel series, which will hold its only oval race of the season Sunday on the treacherous flat track at Wisconsin State Fairgrounds Park, has taken a series of jolts since practice began Friday.

Oriol Servia and Nelson Philippe tested the track’s new energy-absorbing SAFER Barriers on Friday, with Philippe checked out at a nearby hospital for neck and back pain before being released and cleared to drive.

On Saturday, former series champion Cristiano da Matta, Alex Tagliani and Bruno Junqueira, racing on an oval for the first time since breaking his back in a crash during the May 2005 Indianapolis 500, all slammed into the wall. None was injured.

Each of the crashes came under virtually perfect racing conditions – sunny and highs in the low 70s. The only problem was a gusty wind Saturday morning that may have contributed to several of the crashes, including the brutal-looking hit by Tagliani, who was second only to series points leader Sebastien Bourdais on the speed chart at the time.

“We had great speed and, unfortunately, I think we got a gust of wind,” said Tagliani, who had a cut on the back of his right hand closed by six stitches but was otherwise uninjured. “It was pretty gusty this morning and that’s why a lot of guys went off. The car just snapped.”

Tagliani, driving for Team Australia, also wrote off a car in a crash during the race May 13 in Houston and has no backup here. So, instead of chasing the pole and his first victory of the season, the Canadian driver will watch the race from the pits, supporting rookie teammate Will Power. “Sometimes, it just makes me feel like things are just not meant to be,” Tagliani said. “There was nothing in the world that would have kept us from getting on the pole here.

“Yesterday morning, we did 10 laps and had the fastest lap. Then, this morning, another 10 laps and we were fastest.”

It took two hours for Bourdais to beat us by six-hundreths of a second. We were pretty in control, but now we’re not to qualify and we’re not going to race and it makes me feel sad about the whole thing.”

Da Matta also had to skip qualifying but was expected to race in the Time Warner Cable Road Runner 225 from the rear of the now 16-car field in a repaired car. Servia, Philippe and Junqueira all qualified Saturday afternoon in backup cars.

Two-time defending Champ Car champion Bourdais, winner of the first three races this season, earned his third pole of the season and the 21st of his career with a “cautious” lap of 175.394 mph. He also earned one point for the pole and now leads series runner-up Justin Wilson by 26.

The Frenchman, who has struggled in his three previous visits to the suburban Milwaukee track, gave Newman/Haas Racing its first Milwaukee pole since Mario Andretti led qualifying in 1985. He did it running only one of the two qualifying laps allowed.

“I just took it a little easier and I took a little bit extra time to kind of bring myself up to speed and it paid off,” Bourdais said of the first two days of practice. “We made some nice changes and the car came to us; the track came us to, too, and after that, we were fairly confident that the car was going to be good for qualifying.

“We were right where we wanted to be and, you know, I looked at the last time, I knew I could do a little bit better. But there’s no need to be three-tenths or four-tenths (of a second) ahead of everybody if you’re taking chances to achieve that. And I knew the second lap was going to be a little bit riskier, I just decided that it really might be a little painful.”

Junqueira found his backup car was very loose when he warmed up for his qualifying attempt – his first laps in the backup car. He pulled back onto pit road, had his crew make some changes, then was allowed one timed lap after everyone else had qualified.

The Brazilian took advantage of the situation, qualifying on the outside of the front row, next to his teammate, at 174.627.

Asked if he was disappointed that he didn’t get to challenge Bourdais for the pole in his primary car, Junqueira said, “It’s a mixed feeling. I’m not on the pole, but I could be in the hospital because of the crash.”

AP-ES-06-03-06 1643EDT