Monterrey, Mexico ? Adrian Fernandez is making all the right decisions so far at the Monterrey Grand Prix.

Fernandez, among the biggest sports stars in Mexico, was one of only a handful of drivers to complete a lap in Saturday’s rain-washed qualifications.

Fortunately for the only driver-owner in the CART FedEx Series, his came in the early moments of the one-hour session, just moments after rain began to pelt down on downtown Fundidora Park.

“We could see how dark it was and that rain was coming,” Fernandez said. “Our strategy was if someone went out at the beginning, and if the weather would allow it, we would run a few laps.”

After Michael Andretti slipped and slid around the 2.104-mile, 12-turn road course to a lap of 69.442 mph, Fernandez delighted the crowd that was about to be soaked by rain with a 71.242 run.

That wasn’t even close to the 95.965 lap that earned Fernandez a championship point and the provisional pole on Friday, but it was good enough to grab another point as top qualifier in the Saturday session.

The rain began in earnest a few minutes after Fernandez’ fast lap, his second pole start  and first since the 1998 Marlboro 500 in Michigan  was assured.

That also left the entire 20-car lineup from Friday intact, with Dario Franchitti starting on the outside of the front row, followed by Alex Tagliani, Christian Fittipaldi and defending race winner Cristiano da Matta.

Andretti, who will start 16th, said, “We almost got the point for the fastest Saturday qualifier, but then Fernandez, who had nothing to lose, went out and pipped us before it started to rain hard.”

With the possibility of rain in today’s forecast and the little-used track one of the slickest on the Champ car circuit, starting behind the leaders is considered a real handicap in the season-opener.

“Tomorrow is going to be difficult,” said Andretti, the winningest driver in CART history.

The biggest hope for Andretti and others not starting near the front is a couple of new race-day rules for the 2002 season.