Mechanical Problems Betray Good Start At Barber

Takuma Sato looked to be in position to challenge for a top five finish in front of more than 40,000 spectators at round three of the IZOD IndyCar Series before running into mechanical problems at Barber Motorsport Park in Alabama.

The Japanese ace looked to be very competitive after making the Firestone Fast Six in qualifying on Saturday, and waged a tremendous battle with past IndyCar Series champions Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan in the opening part of the 90-lap race. However, a throttle part failure on the #5 Lotus-KVRT Dallara-Honda left him stranded on the track on lap eleven, forcing a full-course caution.

After receiving a tow back to the pits, the Lotus/KVRT crew replaced the faulty part, allowing Sato to return to the action some 22 laps later and, although a long way behind, he recorded solid laps to record his first finish of the season in 25th spot.

"It's motor racing and things happen, but I had a good start and a exciting battle with TK in the early portion of the race through turns two, three, four and five," Sato reflected.

"The crew did a good job replacing the throttle part and I was able to rejoin the race, and I was racing with many different people today. Despite being down quite a number of laps, it was good experience to run to the end."

The KVRT crew now prepares for one of the IndyCar Series' biggest events, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, in California this coming weekend (16-18 April).