Takuma Sato Tag

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

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The season opener of the NTT IndyCar Series saw a lot of action that resulted in six retirements, notably in the first 30 laps that took out some of the heavy favorites in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida. One of the major storylines heading into the 110-lap contest was the struggles of two-time St. Pete winner Sebastien Bourdais, who was eyeing on a three-peat at the 1.8-mile circuit. His bid for a three-peat was already facing multiple roadblocks. Not only he hadRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer After spending the 2018 IndyCar season racing on the road/street courses for Ed Carpenter Racing, Jordan King will attempt to make his oval debut in 2019. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced King will enter the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 in a third entry for the team alongside Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato. King impressed on his debut in 2018. The Englishman set a new track record at St. Petersburg on his first weekend in INDYCAR competition and led 11 laps last year. His bestRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Motorsports Tribune reviews the season of the top 12 drivers from the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Our list continues with the seventh-place finisher, Sebastien Bourdais. Sebastien Bourdais, No. 18 Sealmaster Honda 2018: 7th in the championship  Wins: 1, Top 5: 5, Top 10: 8, Poles: 1, Laps Led: 108 Best Finish: 1st (St. Petersburg) After a strong start to the season with a victory at St. Petersburg and pole at Phoenix, it’s hard to picture a better start to the 2018 IndyCar season for SebastienRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Journalist Motorsports Tribune reviews the season of the top 12 drivers from the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Our list begins with the 12th-place finisher, Takuma Sato. Takuma Sato, No. 30 Mi Jack/Panasonic Honda 2018: 12th in the championship  Wins: 1, Top 5: 4, Top 10: 7, Poles: 0, Laps Led: 32 Best Finish: 1st (Grand Prix of Portland) While Takuma Sato came off an all-time high last season with an Indianapolis 500 win for Andretti Autosport, he had a mixed bag of results highlighted by aRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Journalist SONOMA, California — Takuma Sato will return to race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for a second consecutive year. Sato will compete in his 10th IndyCar Series season in 2019 and his third with RLL. He drove for the team in 2012, scoring a best finish of second at Edmonton and an additional podium at Sao Paulo. “I’m very pleased that we were able to come to terms to extend Takuma’s contract,” said Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-ownerRead More