Takuma Sato Tag

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Simon Pagenaud started the day celebrating his pole-winning effort in qualifications for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge by participating in the traditional front-row photo shoot. He ended the day at the front of the speed chart. Pagenaud was the fastest driver in a two-hour practice Monday afternoon on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval as the 33 qualifiers tuned their cars in race trim in preparation for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” just six days away. INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRESENTED BY GAINBRIDGE: Practice 8 results I Combined practice resultsRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – In what has become another Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge tradition, the 33 participating drivers in this year’s race will fan out across North America on Tuesday to spread the word about the upcoming running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” This year, the 103rd Indianapolis 500 field is scheduled to visit 18 cities in less than 24 hours. Drivers will meet with local media in each location to discuss the race and partake in activities to increase the already-surging interest in the Indianapolis 500, theRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – It’s dubbed “Fast Friday” and the final full day of practice before qualifying for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge was just that. A dozen drivers turned laps in excess of 230 mph as teams dialed in their NTT IndyCar Series cars for the emotional next two days when the 33 grid positions for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will be determined. Conor Daly set the pace in the No. 25 United States Air Force Honda for Andretti Autosport with a lap of 231.704 mph,Read More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Two things were evident following completion of the third practice day for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge: Ed Carpenter Racing’s cars look solid and Fernando Alonso is in dire need of track time. Ed Jones posted the fastest overall lap of 227.843 mph in Thursday’s practice cut short 90 minutes by thunderstorms and lightning. The driver of the No. 63 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet also had the best lap while running on his own, a lap of 225.274 mph as ECR’s driversRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, California – Fresh off his dominant victory at Barber Motorsports Park, Takuma Sato comes into Long Beach third in the NTT IndyCar Series championship standings, trailing points leader Josef Newgarden by 34 points. Sato won the race from the pole last Sunday, leading 74 of 90 laps to score his fourth career Indy car win. He was congratulated by his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammate Graham Rahal, who started alongside Sato before his day ended early due to a mechanical failure, and his co-ownersRead More

By INDYCAR BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Takuma Sato drove flawlessly – almost – to win the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst and throw his name firmly into the NTT IndyCar Series championship conversation. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver made Scott Dixon a Barber Motorsports Park bridesmaid for a record sixth time, beating the reigning series champion to the finish line by 2.3874 seconds. It was the fourth win of Sato’s 10-year NTT IndyCar Series career, with the 42-year-old from Tokyo becoming the third different driver –Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Graham Rahal and Colton Herta went from having superb outcomes to ending up out of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park Sunday due to separate reliability issues and ended up 23rd and 24th respectively. Herta, the new youngest winner in the history of the NTT IndyCar Series, who recently turned 19 on March 30, started ninth and was putting on a nice effort, staying in the top-10 until his day drastically changed when Herta reported that his No. 88 Harding-Steinbrenner RacingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – “It’s tough out there,” Graham Rahal said after making his second-place qualifying run for Sunday’s running of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Those four words can sum up just how treacherous the challenging 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course has been this weekend for almost every driver in the field. From drivers making off-track excursions into the gravel traps and tire barriers in nearly every practice session to the major teams stumbling in qualifying on Saturday, theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Last season was a struggle for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as both Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal will admit, but after sweeping the front row for Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park, the team served notice that they are well into the midst of a comeback. Sato, driver of the No. 30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Honda for the team, blitzed the Fast Six with a lap of one minute, 8.5934 seconds (120.711 mph) to score his first poleRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The opening day of NTT IndyCar Series practice for this weekend’s running of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park was a bit treacherous, to say the least. With overcast skies and rain threatening during the first of two scheduled practice sessions, several drivers found themselves making off track excursions on the mix of wet and dry pavement around the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course, bringing out a number of red flags in the process. When all was said andRead More