Wiser Sato Ignores Time, Keeps Pedal to Metal in Quest for Second Indy 500 Win
March 03, 2020 | By Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Note: This continues a series of feature stories focused on competitors in the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and GMR Grand Prix this May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Stories will appear at IMS.com on Tuesdays and Thursdays through May.
Takuma Sato jogged into a hotel conference room in February in Austin, Texas, and hopped into a director’s chair in front of a group of media members eager to ask him questions about the upcoming NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
It’s hard to believe this was the same guy who first became known to many Indianapolis Motor Speedway fans in 2004 when he scored a shocking third-place finish in the United States Grand Prix Formula One race for Lucky Strike BAR Honda, sharing the podium with Ferrari’s all-conquering duo of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.
Sato was 27 years old that magical June day. Fast-forward 16 years, and Sato looks almost the same. His jet-black hair has no strands of gray. His taut face and high cheekbones show no wrinkles. He is just as fit, trim, spritely and engaging as he was back in the day before Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and smart phones were even invented.
What’s the secret? What is the fountain of youth for this popular Japanese driver as he enters his 11th NTT INDYCAR SERIES season and his third in a row with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing?
“I don’t know what the specific secret is,” Sato said. “I honestly don’t know. I’m just trying to improve myself and want to be the best of the best all the time.”
Whatever he’s doing, it’s working.
Sato, 43, remains a threat for victory at any track despite being the oldest full-time driver in the series in 2020. In a year in which 45-year-old Tony Kanaan is taking his TK Last Lap of the series with a partial schedule, Sato has no plans to slow down behind the wheel of the No. 30 Mi-Jack/Panasonic Honda.
Good genes probably play a role. But behind Sato’s humility is another winter full of hard work. He admits that adapting his workouts during the offseason in his native Japan has played a big role in staying at the sharp end of the grid against drivers half his age or younger.
“That determination when you go from the teens to the 20s to the 30s, your body is reacting better all the time,” Sato said. “But after 35 goes into 40, there is some degradation to the body.
“My physical training program, which I judge by the numbers and the result, which haven’t gone down yet. So, I hope I’m still moving forward. But why, how? I honestly don’t know. I just feel comfortable where I am.”
That comfort level for Sato comes after his second full season back at Rahal Letterman Lanigan, which he rejoined in 2018 after winning the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in 2017 with Andretti Autosport. Sato also drove for Rahal Letterman Lanigan in 2012, when he won the hearts of IMS fans by trying to make a daring pass of leader Dario Franchitti on the last lap of the Indy 500 and ended up in the Turn 1 SAFER Barrier.
Sato finished ninth in the standings last season, with victories on the road course at Barber Motorsports Park and the oval at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. He also won two poles, at Barber and on the high-speed oval at Texas.
Another highlight was finishing third in the Indianapolis 500, gaining 11 spots from his 14th-place starting position. It was the biggest climb of any driver in the top six at the finish and was an impressive rebound from finishing 32nd in 2018.
That solid 2019 season, offseason time on the Honda Performance Development (HPD) simulator and strong engineering work during the winter have Sato very hopeful for success in 2020, including the GMR Grand Prix on Saturday, May 9 and the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 24 at IMS.
A good working bond with teammate Graham Rahal also has bred optimism for Sato, who places just as much of a premium on relationships as a fast car in the team dynamic, especially as he gets older.
“I feel still as a package, a total package, that I’m moving forward,” Sato said. “You have experienced so much. Motor racing is not just about the driver but the team, too. And you need to have the right equipment for the right people and the right circumstance, and then the driver puts it together.
“Everything has to be working together. From that point of view, I think I have the best environment I’ve ever had. I’m just really motivated to get back into a car.”
That doesn’t sound like a guy who plans on slowing down any time soon.
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