The two times winner of the 500 will attempt to qualify and win for the third time the most important race of the year, and in order to do so, he has teamed up with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Sato, who has already competed in five IndyCar seasons with the team owned by Bobby Rahal, will try to win his second Indy 500 for the team after the 2020 event, where he had managed to hold off Helio Castroneves for the final six racing laps to secure his second victory.
He will partner up with RLL’s three full time drivers Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard and Pietro Fittipaldi for the 108th running of the event, and the former Formula 1 driver is ecstatic to have the chance to prove his worth at the IMS again as he said:
“I’m absolutely thrilled to make my return to the 108th Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. A heartfelt thank you to Bobby, Mike, and David and the entire organization for this incredible opportunity. Gratitude overflows as I am driving the No.75 entry with primary sponsorship from AMADA.”
The experienced driver’s entry will be sponsored by AMADA, a leading global machine tool manufacturer and supplier in the sheet metal industry.
“My journey with RLL spans over a decade marked by shared successes and rejoining the team fills me with immense excitement. Here’s to reconnecting with familiar faces and forging new alliances. I just can’t wait to get to work,” added the Japanese driver, who last season had shared Ganassi’s car 11 with Marcus Armstrong, taking part in all the oval races with a best finish of P7 at the 500.
Photo credits: Penske Entertainment | Joe Skibinski
Team Owner Bobby Rahal commented on the signing, expressing his joy at the reformed partnership with Takuma Sato:
“We’re very pleased to welcome back Takuma to the team. We obviously had a great deal of success together and as I’ve said many times, Takuma’s spirit is something that motivates not only me and the entire team, but also his fans. We’re looking forward to his contributions and having a successful Indy 500.”
The return of the driver who has won so far four races with RLL was saluted by co-owner Mike Lanigan as well, mentioning the importance of the experience and knowledge the 500 winner can bring to the rather young team, who won its first race since Sato’s 500 in 2020 last season in Toronto with Christian Lundgaard.
“It’s exciting to have Takuma return to the team for the Indianapolis 500. As he has shown, he knows how to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his experience will add value to our overall program. It’s also particularly exciting to have a globally-recognized company like AMADA join us in this program after first working together in 2023.”
