Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda Indy Grand Prix of
IZOD IndyCar Series
NOTES/QUOTES – Sunday, April 1, 2012
SATO RETIRED FROM THE HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF
TAKUMA SATO, No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We had a reasonable start. It’s always exciting going through two or three corners side-by-side. I gained a few positions and the race settled down quickly. After the pit stop, we struggled with the balance of the car on the primary Firestone tires. As soon as I got back on the alternate Firestone’s on the next stint, the handling was much better and I was starting to overtake people. We were on the way to recovering positions but then all of a sudden I lost power. It is disappointing to have mechanical failures in two consecutive races but there are some positives from the weekend. I hope in
FAST FACTS: Started 16th in his third race here today but retired after mechanical failure in 24th place. He qualified 11th here in 2011 and finished 16th and qualified sixth in 2010 and finished 15th – both for KV Racing Technology… Will be Sato’s first season at RLL and third in IndyCar… Sato led the season-opener in St. Pete two times for a total of 11 laps. He qualified 15th and passed three cars on the start, passed three cars on the second (re)start and two on another to move to the lead two times. He pitted from the lead for his final stop and suffered a mechanical failure that resulted in a 22nd place finish… In 34 starts in 2010-2011, has 17 career top-10 starting spots including four top-five starts and two poles (
INDY 500 HELMET CONTEST: Sato is holding a “With you
RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT BARBER… 2012 marks the 21st consecutive season of competition for the team. It was the first IndyCar Series race for the RLL at Barber.
NEXT UP: The series will take next weekend off and return to action on April 15 for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Sato and RLL will test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, April 4.