Takuma Sato Tag

 By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS — After a topsy-turvy race that saw two of his teammates eliminated before the finish and himself a lap down early, Max Chilton led the most laps en route to a fourth place finish at the 101st Indianapolis 500. Chilton was a lap down right before the savage incident that eliminated teammate and pole sitter Scott Dixon but was able to get back onto the lead lap when the lead lap cars pitted. The former F1 driver managed to grab theRead More

 By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Chip Ganassi Racing’s Tony Kanaan had one of the more interesting races of guys who finished in the top five during the 101st Indianapolis 500. Kanaan led 22 laps early, hit debris in an accident, and had two teammates retire. But the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner managed to come home fifth despite the challenges he faced. “I think we did okay. We had a damaged car, Kanaan said. “After one of the crashes I ran over some of the debrisRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Five years ago, Takuma Sato saw victory at the Indianapolis 500 slip through his grasp. Today, the driver who lives by the motto “no attack, no chance” took hold of opportunity and never let go. Sato won the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil by 0.2011 of a second over three-time winner Helio Castroneves. It is Sato’s second Verizon IndyCar Series win — the other coming at Long Beach in 2013 — and goes down as the sixth-closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. “UnbelievableRead More

By Takuma Sato, Driver Columnist In his fourth column for Motorsports Tribune, Takuma Sato highlights some of his favorite memories of the Indianapolis 500 as he prepares for his eighth start, first with the defending champions, Andretti Autosport. He also gives an update on how two-time Formula One champion-turned-teammate Fernando Alonso is acclimating to the Verizon IndyCar Series in his one-off run at “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The Indianapolis 500 means a lot to me, as I am sure it does to a lot of people. I’ve learned that as youRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Scott Dixon had two more cars to sweat out after turning in a four lap qualifying average of 232.164 mph for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500. Dixon had qualified on the provisional pole but the two cars that topped him in Saturday’s first round of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 were still to come. Takuma Sato went to the plate and fired off some heart-stopping moments during his ten mile journey around the Indianapolis 500 but hisRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — In an Indianapolis 500 qualifying day marred by bad weather and a serious accident from a top qualifying contender, Ed Carpenter Racing’s eponymous team owner came out on top. Ed Carpenter’s No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet was one of the last five cars to qualify for a chance to win the pole for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 and poked the nose of his car to the top of the speed chart with a fourRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana- Predictions ahead of qualifications for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 can be difficult to make. Many teams didn’t show their complete hand in practice while others have all of their cards on the table. Either way, an attempt will be made at predicting qualifying results. Last Row (in no particular order): Buddy Lazier, Jack Harvey and Zach Veach Lazier was seven mph slower than the next slowest car. Harvey has had numerous issues since day one and Veach hadRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana- With the turbocharger boost raised for Fast Friday, the final pre-qualifying practice ahead of the 101st Indianapolis 500, Honda let their top chargers run wild as they secured 10 of the first 11 spots on the speed chart before rains came down to delay practice. Before the rain, Sebastien Bourdais drove his No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda to the fastest lap with 233.116 mph his average around the 2.5 mile oval. The St. Petersburg resident was also fastest onRead More

By Takuma Sato, Driver Columnist In his third column for Motorsports Tribune, Takuma Sato talks about the tough times trying to tackle the Grand Prix of Long Beach, testing in Texas, unveiling his own brand of wine and having former Formula One opponent Fernando Alonso as a teammate at Andretti Autosport for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500. From Long Beach to Texas Long Beach was a tough weekend and we were left with a disappointing outcome. There was a little bit of up and down run by us in practiceRead More

By Takuma Sato, Driver Columnist In his second column for Motorsports Tribune, Takuma Sato discusses some of the improvements made by Honda and Andretti Autosport as they prepare for the Grand Prix of Long Beach, and reveals some of the small rigors of what he did over the three-week break between races. Constantly Improving I’m really excited to return to Long Beach. To be honest, with no change in the aero package from last year to this year, we knew we were coming into an uphill battle on road and streetRead More