Rahal and Sato Qualified 9th and 12th for the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Sonoma Season Finale

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Grand Prix of Sonoma – Sonoma Raceway
Verizon IndyCar Series

QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES – Saturday, September 15, 2018

RAHAL AND SATO QUALIFIED 9TH AND 12TH FOR THE INDYCAR GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA SEASON FINALE

1) Ryan Hunter-Reay    1:17.6277 / 110.605 mph       (Group 2, Round 3)
9) Graham Rahal           1:17.9043 / 110.212 mph       (Group 1, Round 2)
12) Takuma Sato             1:17.9919 / 110.088 mph       (Group 1, Round 2)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Total Dallara/Honda/Firestone:  “I think we found some good improvements between Rounds 1 and 2 that helped the Total Honda. We still have a little bit of work to do. Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day. Without a morning warm-up I think there will be a lot of drivers and teams scratching their heads wondering what to do. We certainly didn’t have three-plus-tenths (of a second) to advance (to Round 3) but to be ninth was decent.  I expect both tires (alternate and primary) to fall off a lot so we’ll see how it goes in the race. I don’t know which one will be preferred. Actually I thought the reds were going to be but then in qualifying, from lap to lap, you can feel the rear tire degradation a little bit whereas the blacks (primary) don’t seem as bad.”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his 11th Indy car race here. His best start is fifth place and best finish is second – both in 2016 with RLL.  He has earned two top-five finishes and six top-10’s in 10 races. In 2017, he entered the Sonoma race seventh in points and moved to sixth in season-ending standings after finishing sixth.  Has SIX IndyCar Series wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas oval; 2017 – Race 1 & 2 Detroit streets) and THREE poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street).  His highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015.  He maintained his eighth place rank in series point standings with 378 points but lost ground to fifth place Ryan Hunter-Reay, who finished third in Portland. 

TAKUMA SATO, No. 30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Dallara/Honda/Firestone:  “Qualifying provided a mixture of feelings. In Round 1 the car reacted how we expected but when we put the red tires on, the car was not quite there. In Round 2 we struggled with the balance. It was very close but I just didn’t get good grip out of the tire. I wish we had a higher starting position but I think tomorrow we will be strong for the race and hope we can gain back some positions.”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his 9th race at Sonoma Raceway.  His best start here of fifth place came last year with Andretti Autosport and his best finish came in 2014 of fourth place with A.J. Foyt Racing. He has a total of two top-10 finishes with eighth place in 2015, also with A.J. Foyt Racing.  Has THREE IndyCar Series wins (2013 – Long Beach street course, 2017 – Indy 500 oval, 2018 – Portland road course) and SEVEN poles (2011 Iowa oval, Edmonton street; 2013 Houston Race 1 street; 2014 St. Pete street, Detroit Race 2 street; 2017 Detroit Race 2, Pocono oval). He is ranked 11th in series point standings with 341.

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT SONOMA … The 2018 Grand Prix of Sonoma race will mark the 11th Indy car event for RLL here. The highest start for the team here is fifth by Graham Rahal in 2016 and the highest finish is second place by Buddy Rice in 2005 and Graham Rahal in 2016.  Prior to the 2018 event, the team prepared a total of 17 Indy car entries for drivers Buddy Rice (2005-2006), Vitor Meira (2005), Danica Patrick (2005-2006), Jeff Simmons (2006), Scott Sharp (2007), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2007-2008), Takuma Sato (2012), James Jakes (2013), Zach Claman De Melo (2017) and Graham Rahal (2013-2017).  The team has earned two podiums (2nd – Rice 2005, Rahal 2015), two top-five’s and six top-10 finishes at the track.

NEXT UP:  The INDYCAR Grand Prix of Sonoma will be televised live on NBCSN beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday, September 16.

PHOTO AND VIDEO AVAILABLE: Media members who register on the IndyCar Series media site have access to photography as well as video. Register for access to photos at: /www.indycarmedia.com/pages/ApplyforAccess