Takuma Impresses On Indy 500 Debut

Takuma Sato was impressive Sunday in his debut at the Indianapolis 500 in one of the hottest Brickyard races in history.

Takuma, the rookie driver of the #5 Lotus-KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone machine, drove from 31st starting position to as high as sixth in his first appearance on the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5-mile oval.

The air temperature was as high as 97 degrees Sunday with the track surface over 130.

Takuma had placed third in the US Grand Prix F1 event on the 2.6-mile Indy road circuit in 2004 but this was his initial showing on the legendary Indy oval.

Takmua was in his second oval race Sunday as he passed some 20 cars by the halfway point.

On lap 107, he was scored in 11th spot when he suffered a pit problem. Due to the difficulty, Takuma was issued a penalty that cost him a lap on the track.

He fought back from 28th to 20th at the finish. The Lotus-sponsored driver was the third highest finishing rookie in the 200-lap event.

"This was definitely some experience for me today," Takuma reflected. "We moved up close to the top-ten in the middle of the race. Then we had a problem on a pit stop and we received a penalty. Due to that penalty, we got behind a lap and we could not make it up.

"The race was very long and there were a lot of difficult situations. I do feel good about finishing the entire race and I learned a lot. The Indy 500 is just a spectacular event. The Lotus – KV Racing Technology team worked very hard all month and we had a great experience racing here."

KV Racing Technology will now perform a quick turnaround of its three cars this week before heading to the Texas Motor Speedway for Saturday night's Firestone 550 on the fast 1.5-mile tri-oval.