Taku Denied Iowa Podium After Strongest Race Yet

Takuma Sato came close to a podium finish in just his fourth oval race in the IndyCar Series at Iowa Speedway, but unfortunately an accident whilst lapping backmarkers forced him out of third place.

What result could Sato have achieved in his Lotus-liveried KV Racing Technology Dallara-Honda? Well, at the time he was running third, behind eventual race-winner Tony Kanaan and Indy 500 victor Dario Franchitti, and ahead of Helio Castroneves. But Franchitti would ultimately retire with mechanical problems, and Kanaan lost time in a pit-stop incident that dropped him behind Castroneves, before he re-passed his fellow Brazilian to win. Let's just say a podium was very possible.

But sadly, that was denied Taku with 73 laps remaining of the 250-lap race, when a misunderstanding with a backmarker forced him into the wall. And, in case you think 73 laps is a long way from home, just remember that Iowa Speedway is less than 0.9 miles long, with a lap time of just 18 seconds! It is that configuration that makes Iowa a unique track on the IndyCar calendar.

"I was looking forward to turning right again by testing at Watkins Glen straight after the last race in Texas," said Sato, "but that was cancelled due to very bad weather so we went to Iowa. It is a short oval, so we use the big wings from road courses, but because of the combination of high downforce and high banking we use the hard tyres from superspeedways.

"Because the spec of car we run at Iowa is so different we had two one-hour practice sessions, and that helped me a lot. I had time to learn the track, learn the tyre and then time to work on a set-up for the race. I had a very positive practice and I was happy with the car."

It was looking good going into qualifying, where Taku put himself seventh on the grid.

"It was quite challenging," he said. "The superspeedway tyre is hard, but there are only two warm-up laps before the qualifying run, and because the lap is only 18 seconds the tyres are not ready when you go into Turn 1 on your first qualifying lap, but of course you have to commit. The bumps are massive but you have to keep it on-line. In Turns 3 and 4 it was understeer and oversteer, but you just use both front and rear anti-roll bars and the weight-jacker to settle it. I was very pleased to take seventh on the grid."

Now that he is gaining experience of oval racing, the Japanese star was able to consolidate that position early in the race.

"I'd done three starts on ovals and have some idea how it will work, " he reported. "I was able to be quite aggressive and not lose positions this time, and was surrounded by quality drivers. It was great, exciting moments, going two, even three-wide into Turn 1 with all the bumps.

"In my first stint in Texas we were too conservative on the car set-up and I had massive understeer, so this time we went more aggressive. The car worked well ,but again there was a little too much understeer. After the first, second and third stints we adjusted the front flap and tyre pressures to improve it.

"Racing with the top group was really encouraging and exciting and enjoyable. It was great battling with Helio, and a great feeling to go two-wide with him for many laps."

After he had dispatched Ryan Hunter-Reay and Scott Dixon, Sato was up into third place.

"When I overtook Dixon it was a very exciting moment to see only two guys in front," he confessed. "We had worked on the car, and now I was happy to commit.

"I was coming up to lap Danica Patrick and Alex Lloyd. My closing speed was quite high and I had no doubts or anything – I had been dealing with lapped cars many times, but unfortunately the timing was bad this time. I saw they were running in the middle of the track, so I looked inside. By the time we got to Turn 3 Alex went to the inside, and I had to lift and even brake, but I was closing so quickly I had massive turbulence. Then suddenly the nose was pointing the wrong way and by the time it was straight I was too high into the marbles and it never came back.

"It was such a shame, because the team worked so hard and I was really enjoying oval racing – but you really have to learn and get experience. It was disappointing, but I've found many positives on ovals and I'm confident we can do a great job when we go back to them later in the season."

For now, though, it's a run of road and street races, starting on 4 July with a trip East to New York State and the charismatic Watkins Glen circuit, home of the United States GP from 1961 to 1980.

"I'm looking forward to more road courses, especially now I'm more familiar with everything in IndyCar," Taku enthused. "I couldn't test there, but I can't wait to race there because it's a beautiful circuit."