The Japanese ex-Formula 1 star was running comfortably in the top 10 for most of the first 25 laps until he unfortunately collected the tyre wall.

On only his second weekend as an IndyCar driver with the KV Racing Technology team, Taku made big progress. During the second free practice session on Friday, he lapped seventh fastest, within 0.1 seconds of second position. "It was quite positive and things were going smoothly," he said.

"St Pete was another new circuit for me, with a good mixture of low and high-speed corners, and a lot less bumpy than the first race in Brazil! There are some tricky corners and the high-speed section is quite challenging.

"This is a circuit the team knows, unlike Brazil, so we were able to work from a good baseline. I was able to start enjoying driving from the start and I was reasonably happy with balance."

Unfortunately, the handling took a turn for the worse on Saturday morning.

"Street circuits change dramatically as the rubber goes down," said Sato. "Usually it gets faster but sometimes it upsets the car in terms of balance." A big moment for Taku on the chicane kerbs - "the car was airborne" - meant lost time in the pits as the team replaced a damaged damper cover. "Once you've lost a time it's very hard to catch up and you never have time to do a proper back to back."

Nevertheless, Sato was happy to go fifth fastest in his 12-car group in first qualifying, putting him into the second round. And then he lost more time. "It was a relief to recover and good to get to the second stage. But on my out lap in Q2, we had a mechanical problem on a rear axle and a wheel came off. Fortunately it was a pretty slow section, Turn 5. Luckily the marshals got the wheel back on. So I was able to drive back to the pit. I got back on the circuit but finding the rhythm after this was not easy and we run out of time to make most of it, and further more I lost my two best lap times for causing a full-course caution." After these tribulations, he took 11th on the grid.

After the disappointment of a first-lap retirement in Sao Paulo, St Petersburg would be the first time Taku had driven a race stint on the softer, 'red' tyres. And he would have to wait 19 hours longer than planned, as a torrential storm delayed the race until Monday morning.

"At the start it was slick tyres on a damp condition. Usually these are conditions I enjoy, but everything is new to me in IndyCars so I felt a little bit uncertain. I was cautious at the rolling start, and went well in Turn 1 and made a few positions (ahead of team-mate EJ Viso and Mike

Conway)."

Sato settled into ninth place, running behind Alex Tagliani and ahead of Viso. "It was good fun and good to get a racing feeling, with some side-by-side overtaking - something missing in the past two years! But conditions were very green on the track, very hard for tyres. Some people

started to struggle with balance and so did I. I radioed to the team that I wanted to change to the primary tyre, but we needed to stretch more laps to the fuel window. Now I massively struggled with balance."

While struggling to hold off Vitor Meira, Taku slithered into the barriers.

"The car behind had much better pace, and this has taught me something. Before, everything I did in my career was sprint racing. When you're driving you always have to commit, but maybe there are occasions where you don't have to defend so much, because in IndyCar you have multiple full-course cautions particularly in these kind of conditions, so maybe it's not so absolutely critical if you lose a place. There are so many things to learn and I'm still learning."

The weekend after next is round three at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, the beautiful road circuit where Sato started his IndyCar adventure: "There's a lot more to come there, and for the first time I know the circuit."

And talking of 'beautiful', Taku's new Lotus livery, marking the beginning of a tie-up with the legendary car maker, was a resounding success. "It's fantastic news for everyone!" he said. "It's such an iconic brand and I'm really pleased to be part of their Indy project and proud to drive in the historical British Racing Green colour."

Takuma, who was competing in his first race in the #5 car's iconic green-and-yellow Lotus livery, started the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg, which was postponed until Monday due to rain, from eleventh.

He then used all of his F1 experience to overcome the challenging track conditions to move up to eight by lap 21. However, at that point he was fighting to get into the fuel window when he ran into the tyre wall while defending his position.

"I was disappointed not to finish today," Taku said. "I enjoyed the start of race. The conditions were very tricky, but I was able to improve a few positions, which was a great feeling.

"During the early part of the race I was able to battle and make some more positions. Then, I was struggling with the balance and wanted to pit, but we were trying to stretch to the fuel window. Unfortunately, while I was struggling I was trying to defend my position when I hit the wall.

"I have learned a lot about the car these first two races, but I still have some things to learn about this series. I am confident it will come soon."

E. J. Viso, #8 PDVSA – KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone, who was making his third appearance on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg temporary street circuit, qualified a team-high ninth and drove an incredibly smart and strong race. He was in-line for a top-five finish when a fortuitous yellow flag vaulted him into the lead on lap 72 of the 100 lap contest with enough fuel to go to the end. However, one lap later the shift mechanism failed, which all but brought his day to an end. Viso, who returned to the track, ended up with the races fastest lap, but finished 17th.

"What a shame for the PDVSA – KV Racing Technology team because we ran well all weekend," Viso said. "We definitely had the speed, pace and a good strategy in today's race. I was leading the race until a shift mechanism failed. This is the tough part of racing, one second you have everything and the next it is taken away from you. We just need to keep our spirits up and work hard for a better race at Barber."

.

Moraes, #32 KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone, also competing in his third race in St. Petersburg, started 20th. Driving a patient, but determined race, Moraes benefitted from a solid strategy and was running in seventh place when he was hit from behind resulting in a flat tire. After pitting for new tires Moraes was back on the move fighting to pick up positions when, for the second time, he was hit from behind when Dan Wheldon's suspension collapsed and he was unable to stop. Moraes finished the race 21st.

"The race was going well until I got hit from behind by first Dixon and then by Wheldon," Moraes said. "It's a shame for the KV Racing Technology team because the crew worked really hard all weekend and the car was handling well. To end it like this is not a great feeling."

Sato, #5 Lotus – KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone, contested his second IndyCar race and first in the green and yellow Lotus livery today. Starting 11th, Sato used all of his Formula 1 experience to overcome challenging track conditions and move into eighth place by lap 21. However, at that point he was fighting to get into the fuel window when he ran into the tire wall while defending his position. Sato placed 22nd.

"I was disappointed not to finish today," Taku said. "I enjoyed the start of race. The conditions were very tricky, but I was able to improve a few positions, which was a great feeling. During the early part of the race I was able to battle and make some more positions. Then, I was struggling with the balance and wanted to pit, but we were trying to stretch to the fuel window. Unfortunately, while I was struggling I was trying to defend my position when I hit the wall. I have learned a lot about the car these first two races, but I still have some things to learn about this series. I am confident it will come soon."

Next up for KVRT is the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy Credit Union, April 9-11, at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

Sato, who will be competing in just his second IndyCar race and the first in the #5 car's iconic green-and-yellow Lotus livery, posted a time of 62.4205secs, but it wasn't enough to get him through to subsequent stages of the qualifying session, and will see him line up on the inside of row six at the Florida street circuit, having claimed seventh on the combined speed report after Friday's practice.

However, his morning practice session suffered something of a mishap when, working to gain speed in turn twelve, he hit a kerb and slightly damaged his car. After some quick repairs, Sato finished the session with the 17th fastest lap and then, running in the second qualifying group, did enough to produced the fifth quickest time to advance to round two.

Unfortunately, a wheel gun malfunctioned at just the wrong time and did not properly secure the right rear wheel so that, on his first lap of the second round, the wheel came off, causing a caution. After an inspection for damage, and an equipment change, Sato went back on track, but ran fewer laps than the other eleven drivers and lost his fastest lap because the yellow flag.

"It was an eventful day for the Lotus–KV Racing team," Sato admitted, "I wasn't particularly happy with the balance of the car in the morning practice session and then hit the kerb.

"In qualifying, I was reasonably happy with the balance and was able to put the lap times together to move into the second round. However, in that session, I got a wheel-related mechanical problem, which caused the wheel to come loose. After that, we ran out of time to make the best use of the session, and I was unable to put competitive lap times together with the little time I had left.

"However, we will work hard tonight and be ready for warm-up tomorrow and I still think that we will have a good race."

The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be broadcast live, March 28, on ABC beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST. For more information about KV Racing Technology visit: www.kvracingtechnology.com or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kvracing and Facebook: www.facebook.com/kvracingtechnology

Eagle-eyed racing fans will be hard pressed to miss the stunning new Lotus livery as it's set to send GOOD VIBRATIONS through the IndyCar paddock in St Petersburg. The striking livery is based on the original Lotus IndyCar of the sixties driven by racing legend Jim Clark and is the result of many A HARD DAY'S NIGHT by the creative graphics team from the UK based owner.

The more mature IndyCar fan out there CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE and may remember these colours when Lotus competed for a number of years, winning the Indy 500 outright in 1965 with the ground-breaking Lotus Type 38 driven by Jim Clark and his talented GOLDFINGER(S).

Taking over the reigns, former F1 driver, Japan's Takuma Sato got his TICKET TO RIDE the new Lotus ahead of the start of the 2010 IndyCar season. The first round of the IZOD IndyCar series, the Sao Paulo Indy 300, then saw Lotus competing together with established IndyCar competitors, KV Racing Technology, as the IndyCar rookie took to the track in the new car minus the new Lotus livery.

Now in St. Petersburg Lotus is back in the original colours for the first time and Taku, as he's known to fans, and Lotus aim to make their mark on IndyCar. Commenting on his appointment Sato said: "Someone said to me "YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVING FEELING" but that's not true. It is very exciting for me to drive for such an iconic car manufacturer. Lotus has enjoyed great success over the years, and I hope I can reward the team's faith in me with success on track."

Claudio Berro, Director of Lotus Motorsport added: "It's fair to say that I'M A BELIEVER that we will immediately be a force to be reckoned with."

Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus plc said: "Racing has always defined us and on many occasions in motorsport history Lotus innovations have redefined racing. We will hopefully bring our unique brand of innovations back to IndyCar where we will be pulling out all the stops working EIGHT DAYS A WEEK to achieve our goals."

The Songs:

• (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction , The Rolling Stones
• Help, The Beatles
• Good Vibrations, Beach Boys
• A Hard Days Night, The Beatles
• Can't Help Falling In Love With You, Elvis Presley
• Goldfinger , Shirley Bassey
• Ticket To Ride, The Beatles
• You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' , Righteous Brothers
• I'm A Believer, The Monkees
• Eight Days A Week, The Beatles

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- MARCH 24, 2010 -- KV Racing Technology will be seeking a strong showing this weekend at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, March 26-28, on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

KVRT is coming off a disappointing, but hard fought, season opener in Saõ Paulo, Brazil where E. J. Viso, #8 PDVSA -- KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone, finished 12th while teammates Takuma Sato, #5 Lotus -- KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone, and Mario Moraes, #32 KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone, were victims of separate opening lap incidents and placed 22nd and 24th respectively.

Viso will be making his 34th career IndyCar start, 15th on a road/street circuit, third at St. Petersburg and second with KVRT this weekend. In 2008, competing in just his second IndyCar race, the determined Venezuelan, who celebrated his 25th birthday on March 19th, earned a career high fourth place finish at St. Petersburg, leading his first IndyCar laps in the process.

"It's always exciting going back to St. Petersburg," Viso said. "I had my career best finish there two years ago when it was just my second time in an IndyCar and first on a road/street course. Last year I was running in third until I had mechanical failure, so I am excited to go back. I think we have a good chance this weekend and I look forward to getting back out on track."

Sato, who made his IndyCar and KVRT debut in Saõ Paulo, is a veteran of seven Formula 1 seasons. The 33-year-old from Japan has been the fastest of the KVRT drivers heading into St. Petersburg. He was sixth on the combined speed charts at the pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park and qualified a team-high 10th in Brazil,

"This will be my first time racing in Florida and although I have never seen the St Petersburg track, it looks like it has always been an exciting race over there in the past," Taku said. "I was reasonably happy to qualify in top 10 at my first race in Brazil two weeks ago and with my knowledge and confidence in the car and team growing all the time, am aiming to improve on that result"

Moraes will be making his 34th career IndyCar start, 14th on a road/street circuit, third at St. Petersburg and 18th with KVRT. The 21-year-old Brazilian, the youngest full-time driver in the series, has a best showing of 16th at St. Petersburg in 2008, but last year, after qualifying 20th he was positioned for a top-10 finish based on solid driving, a tactically sound race strategy and outstanding pit work, when he was hit from behind damaging his car and ending his day.

"I am looking forward to getting back in the car and racing at St. Petersburg," Moraes said. "The race in Brazil obviously didn't go the way I want, but I am looking for a better result this weekend."

KVRT will be contesting its third race on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg temporary street circuit. In two previous events, three starts, they have a best qualifying position of second by Will Power in 2008 and a best finish of seventh by Oriol Servia also in 2008 (Power eighth).

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...&FS=INDYCAR

The Lotus-Cosworth IndyCar will use the classic Racing Green and Yellow livery used on Lotus Racing cars in the 1950s and 1960s and this new livery will debut at the first USA round of the IndyCar Series.

Driving the Lotus-Cosworth IndyCar will be the former F1 driver Takuma Sato.

Lotus competed for a number of years in the IndyCar Series in the 1960s, winning the Indianapolis 500 race outright in 1965 with the pioneering Lotus Type 38, driven by Jim Clark, and narrowly missing victory to come second in 1963.

Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus plc said, "Racing has always defined Lotus and on many occasions in motorsports history Lotus' numerous innovations have re-defined racing. It's only fitting that as the Lotus Racing name re-enters Formula 1, we will also race and innovate again in IndyCar. The Lotus name will, once again compete in the top two open-wheel racing series for the passion and enthusiasm of car fans around the globe."

Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser, owners of KV Racing Technology said, "We are delighted to be part of Lotus and Cosworth's return to the IndyCar Series, and with Takuma at the wheel of the classic racing green and yellow Lotus Cosworth race car, we expect to be formidable competitors this year."

Takuma Sato said, "This is fantastic news for everyone. It is exiting for me to be a Lotus driver and I'm really looking forward to great success with this new project."

The return to the IndyCar Series follows on from the recent announcement by Lotus and Cosworth are to become closely associated through a strategic partnership looking at the opportunity to develop high performance engines for Lotus cars.

The 2010 IndyCar Series starts with the Sao Paolo Indy 300, Brazil on the 14th of March 2010.

About Lotus

The main operating subsidiary of Group Lotus plc is Lotus Cars Ltd, which has two operating divisions - Lotus Engineering and Lotus Cars. Lotus Engineering is an internationally recognized automotive engineering consultancy based in Norfolk, UK. Global facilities include those in Michigan (USA), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), China and offices in Germany and Japan, with rapid expansion in new territories such as South East Asia.

Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive and versatile consultancy services to many of the world's OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, offering a full engineering service from initial concept and project design through development and integration of the complete vehicle to meet all worldwide markets and customers to full production. This includes third party 'niche vehicle' engineering and manufacture worldwide.

Lotus Cars builds world class, prestige, high performance sports cars for sale in 37 countries. These include the iconic Lotus Elise, the Exige, the 2-Eleven and Lotus' latest model, the Lotus Evora. Lotus is a global high-tech company, expanding rapidly and committed to driving forward technology for both Lotus Cars and its Engineering clients, spearheading research into such areas as hybrids, electric vehicles and renewable fuels.

About Cosworth

The Cosworth Group provides high performance technologies to a diverse range of global industries including automotive, defence, clean energy generation and sports.

The Cosworth Group is headquartered in Northampton, UK and operates additional facilities in the UK, North America and India to leverage its unique combination of advanced technologies, mechanical and electronic engineering expertise and globally recognized brand to deliver performance solutions.

Cosworth has been at the forefront of international motorsport for over 50 years and is a brand synonymous with success. Cosworth high performance race technologies have delivered championships in every major series across the globe including Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR, World Rallying, World Touring Cars and MotoGP.

About KV Racing Technologies

KV Racing Technology was established in 2003. The Indianapolis-based team will contest its eighth open-wheel season and third in the IndyCar Series in 2010. KVRT is owned by successful venture capitalist Kevin Kalkhoven and 1996 Indy Car Series Champion, Jimmy Vasser. Veteran motorsports manager Mark Johnson is the team's General Manager. KVRT has earned two victories, the first by Cristiano da Matta in Portland in 2005 and the second by Will Power in Long Beach in 2008. They have captured two poles, Tristan Gommendy at Mont Tremblant in 2007 and Vasser at Milwaukee in 2005 (Will Power captured the pole at the 2008 Surfers Paradise, Australia exhibition race).

About Takuma Sato

Sato, commonly known as "Taku", a 33-year-old native of Tokyo, Japan, is a veteran of seven Formula 1 seasons and will be contesting his first IndyCar season. In 1996, he started karting and in 1997 won the Kanto region championship. In 1999, his first full year of car racing, Taku competed in Formula Opel Europe and British Formula 3 National Class B for Diamond Racing. He finished sixth in Formula Opel Europe scoring one victory. Taku joined Carlin Motorsport for the 2000 season to compete in British Formula 3 (Class A). He contested 12 races earning four wins, six poles, six podiums and placing third in championship. His 16 wins in the British Formula 3 Championship over two seasons is still a record. Having proven his talent in Formula 3 and impressed with his testing for BAR, Taku was signed by Jordan-Honda in October 2001 to contest the 2002 Formula 1 season. Taku had his best F1 season in 2004 driving full time for BAR-Honda where he placed eighth in the championship with 34 points. In 2006, Taku joined the new Super Aguri-Honda team established by Japanese racing legend Aguri Suzuki - the only Japanese driver prior to Sato to finish on the podium in a F1 race. Taku competed again for Super Aguri-Honda in 2007 earning two top-10 finishes.

Photos Here:

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