NikkeiWest--Northern California Japanese American Newspaper

It was a tough weekend (Aug. 21-22) for Takuma Sato in the latest IndyCar Series round at the Infineon road course in Sonoma County.

The Japanese star looked set for a rewarding 10th-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 disappointing 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 Sato. “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 also 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 Sato. “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,” Sato 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, Sato 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 10 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 tires and came into the pits, and finished a lap down.”

“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,” Sato 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.”

On Aug. 18, Sato was 20th in opening practice at Infineon. The seven-year Formula One veteran recorded an average speed of 104.090 mph.

“It was a reasonable day,” Sato said. “The track conditions were slippery at the beginning of the practice session. But we also had a little struggle with the balance of the car.

“At the end, the track and weather conditions got better but we need to get more grip. We wanted to try some more things with the car. But we ran out of time today.

“We will analyze the data now and hopefully, we can put everything together and be ready for a strong run tomorrow,” summed up Sato, who had qualified third at Mid-Ohio two weeks earlier and qualified for the Firestone Fast Six in all three of the previous permanent road circuit events at Barber, Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio.

Sato started his Bay Area visit by speaking with the press on Aug. 18 at Fior D’Italia restaurant in San Francisco along with Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Andretti Autosport), who won the first IndyCar Series race in Sonoma in 2005; Raphael Matos (No. 2 de Ferran Dragon Racing), 2009 Rookie of the Year with eight top-10 finishes; J.R. Hildebrand (No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing), a Sausalito native and the first American to win the Firestone Indy Lights title in 2009; and Charlie Kimball (No. 26 AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport, Firestone Indy Lights), the only licensed driver with diabetes in the Indy Racing league.

Asked for his impressions of Infineon, which he had just visited for the first time, Sato said, “The test was good ... There’s many circuits in Europe that are beautiful circuits, but I think I really enjoyed driving Infineon here. It’s pretty challenging.”

Comparing IndyCar racing with Formula One, he commented, “In many ways it’s just different. Which one is good or bad, it’s not that sort of question … The car is similar, the wheels and the wings, but … there is no tire warmers and things like that. And the way the car behaves is sort of different … But I enjoy it. I enjoy any kind of cars to drive.”

He added, “ The field is very tight. I think anyone can have a good opportunity to drive up to the front, which is a very nice part … I found a very tough competition and so far I didn’t have as great a result as I wished, but as a team we showed a good performance, good potential, and hopefully we can show a good result … I am greatly enjoying the series and competing with great guys.”

A native of Tokyo, the 33-year-old Sato has spent much of his career in Europe and currently lives in Monaco. He started out as a bicycle racer in Japan but dreamed of being a Formula One driver. “My parents had no idea of (car) racing, he recalled. “I had to wait until I was 19 years old to go to racing school and then got a scholarship. Then mostly my racing career started in the U.K.”

His record of 16 overall victories in the British F3 Championship in 2000-2001 remains unbroken, and he said his experience in Europe has helped him as he competes in the U.S. “I’m still learning a lot, but I’m enjoying it.”

While the race at Infineon was not broadcast live in Japan, Sato said, “They do Internet live streaming … Certainly, we need to build up the momentum in Japan, so hopefully there will be Japanese fans looking forward to this weekend … The Infineon circuit is very famous … so I think a lot of race fans are really looking forward to seeing that.”

After Infineon, Sato was knocked out of the Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 by a pit incident with teammate EJ Viso at the lightning-fast Chicagoland Speedway, and was forced to retire on the opening lap of the Kentucky Indy 300 after sliding into the wall. He will now seek to put the disappointment behind him as he turns his focus to his home round of the season at the Twin Ring Motegi on Sept. 19.