Preview
IndyCar
Sato fifth start at TMS
Takuma Sato: "Texas Motor Speedway is a great 1.5 mile oval. It always presents exciting racing because we run so close and go two-wide which is helped by the steep banking."
Edited: Jun 7, 2013, 3:53 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Takuma Sato and the ABC Supply team are in their first season together. Sato is making his fourth appearance (and fifth start) at Texas Motor Speedway. He posted his first career victory in the Long Beach Grand Prix April 21.
Takuma Sato, A.J. Foyt Enterprises Honda
Photo by: Jay Alley
Following his 19th and 23rd place finishes in the doubleheader at Detroit’s Belle Isle, he is sixth in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings. He posted his first career victory in the Long Beach Grand Prix April 21.
Past Performance at TMS: Sato’s best start is fourth and his best finish is fifth, both coming in the first of two races at the track in 2011. The Foyt team’s best finish at Texas came in 1998 when they won with Billy Boat.
The year before Boat had taken the checkered flag first but USAC Scorers ruled that he finished second and gave the win to Arie Luyendyk the next day (but Foyt still has the trophy). Boat also won the pole at TMS in the fall of 1998.
Takuma Sato testing at Texas Motor Speedway: “It was productive. The team wanted to try some different setups from last year and we made good progress. However, the track condition was so cold back then that we stopped running before sunset so perhaps we need to revisit some of the items but still it was a good test.”
“Texas Motor Speedway is a great 1.5 mile oval. It always presents exciting racing because we run so close and go two-wide which is helped by the steep banking. But recently, it became even more challenging due to technical regulation changes. We have a lot less down-force than we used to have.
The idea was to split up the field to minimize pack racing; as a result, there is no more 3-wide racing and very little 2-wide racing. It has become more single-file racing and quite difficult to overtake. Also, the low down-force increases the tire degradation and there is no more flat on the gas so it is very challenging for us to manage all of it well.”
AJ Foyt Racing
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article IndyCar hands out citations to multiple teams from Detroit Duals, series overreacts
Next article A new Firehawk tire specification debut on Texas 550
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Takuma Sato
Ed Carpenter explains why he was so angry with Takuma Sato
IndyCar
IndyCar
110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
Ed Carpenter explains why he was so angry with Takuma Sato
Takuma Sato set for Indy 500 return with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
IndyCar
IndyCar
110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
Takuma Sato set for Indy 500 return with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda shares sneak peek of Takuma Sato preparing for Williams FW11 Tokyo Auto Salon run
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya Pre-Season Testing
Honda shares sneak peek of Takuma Sato preparing for Williams FW11 Tokyo Auto Salon run
More from
A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
IndyCar
IndyCar
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
Josh Pierson earns IndyCar license approval following IMS road course evaluation test
IndyCar
IndyCar
Josh Pierson earns IndyCar license approval following IMS road course evaluation test
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Latest news
NASCAR explains why they penalized Zane Smith after latest clash with Carson Hocevar
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
9 h
NASCAR explains why they penalized Zane Smith after latest clash with Carson Hocevar
Porsche boss Laudenbach says he is "not happy" with how things were handled by IMSA in 2026
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 9 h
Porsche boss Laudenbach says he is "not happy" with how things were handled by IMSA in 2026
Five things to watch out for at the F1 United States GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
9 h
Five things to watch out for at the F1 United States GP
KTM sees MotoGP 2027 as a fresh start: “We never had the chance to build a new bike”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP 10 h
KTM sees MotoGP 2027 as a fresh start: “We never had the chance to build a new bike”
Feature
Discover prime content
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe