Taku`s Infineon Report

[Mark H]

It was a tough weekend for Takuma Sato in the latest IndyCar Series round at the Sonoma road course in California, but the Japanese star looked set for a rewarding tenth-place finish in the closing laps...

 

Then came a mystery problem on the final restart, which left Sato with no grip at the front and contributed to a late collision. After a pit-stop, he rejoined to finish a disappointed 18th.

 

For the second race running, Sato and his KV Racing Technology team had the opportunity to get in some pre-event testing with their Lotus backed Dallara-Honda. But it did not go as planned.

 

“We had such a strong race in Mid-Ohio, and the test there had been very productive and it was great to understand the whole thing,” said Taku. “We brought our successful package to Sonoma, but it just didn’t work out. This circuit requires a different philosophy and we couldn’t find the right set-up. But that was also very valuable information – it’s the way to learn.

 

“So the test was good, and we studied and came back and hoped the car would be stronger. But conditions were different for practice and we seemed to be missing something fundamental – it wasn’t comfortable and we couldn’t find good speed. It was no one thing – just balance and grip.

 

“Sonoma is a stunning circuit, different to any track I’ve ever driven. The elevation changes are massive and the TV pictures only really half-show that. Turn one and two are like a wall – like Eau Rouge at Spa, but here you have to brake and turn 90 degrees. It’s a very challenging circuit for driver commitment – you can really enjoy it if you have a balanced car.”

 

Qualifying proved a disappointment, with Sato taking ninth-fastest time in his group to line up 17th on the grid.

 

“No one made it from KV,” pointed out Taku. “The warm-up was the only hope we could get it back together and finally found something positive after changing the set-up a little.”

 

There was a dramatic start, with Sato having to steer into the run-off to avoid the rolling Dan Wheldon before the startline!

 

“An accident shouldn’t happen before the start – everyone was too close,” he said. “I saw Dan was launched up in air, then immediately after I heard the race was aborted so I wanted make sure that I avoided a second accident and the debris so had to go wide and slow down and lost a couple of places. I was sure I could go back to where I was before the start, because I hadn’t even crossed the startline when I lost the places, but I couldn’t.”

 

After that Taku settled down into a rhythm, and would run in company with Bertrand Baguette and Raphael Matos for most of the race.

 

“I could follow guys and save fuel, and commit to attack,” he said. “Today was fun because I overtook a number of cars. We decided to make a short first stint and long second, different from normal but because of that I would have an opportunity to gain positions. Today, I always caught someone in front all the time so it was very positive and exciting.”

 

Bit by bit Sato worked his way up the order, and was sitting pretty in the top ten when the final caution flags flew. Then his race turned sour…

 

“After the restart I was so struggling for grip, particularly at the front, and we are looking at what the problem is. I had massive understeer. I was braking much earlier but locking up, just like in a Formula 3 race at Donington in 2001 when I had a slow puncture. The car was wobbling too. I tried to hang on but couldn’t.

 

“Danica Patrick and Alex Lloyd came past and they were just getting into the corner at the end of the back straight – I tried to avoid them but the damage or problem was so severe I just couldn’t make the car turn and unfortunately I tangled with Danica. After that I had flat tyres and came into the pits, and finished a lap down.”

 

So ends the run of road and street courses, and now the series returns to the ovals, with a trip east to the Chicagoland track, around 30 miles out of Chicago, for the next round on Saturday.

 

“The race was positive after a difficult start, and I was determined to get back to the front to do what we were able to in Mid-Ohio,” Taku said. “It’s a shame we couldn’t achieve what we wanted, but now my brain needs to shift completely and go into oval mode. Our oval races earlier in the season were encouraging, so hopefully we can pick up from that and take good momentum into my home race at Motegi.”

 

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