Takuma Sato is returning to the Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan as he looks for a third win at The Brickyard.
The Japanese driver has two wins to his name at Indianapolis and took victory and the eerily quiet edition behidn closed doors in 2020 with RLL.
He has a chequered history with the 500-mile race because Sato has won twice but only scored four top-10 finishes despite competing every year since his debut in 2010.
This season, Sato is competing at Rahal Letterman Lanigan as a one-off entry after the 48-year-old paused his full-time IndyCar commitments in 2022.
Takuma Sato is confident ahead of the Indy 500
Sato is feeling confident ahead of the 109th Running of the Indy 500 and said: “I’m very excited to return to the 109th Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Once again, a heartfelt thank you to Bobby, Mike, David, and the entire organisation for this incredible opportunity.
“I’m also deeply grateful for the continued support from AMADA as the primary sponsor, alongside Panasonic Automotive Systems, Niterra, Deloitte Tohmatsu, NAC, Honda, HRC, and all our loyal sponsors. The new No. 75 car carries over RLL’s historic design with a refreshed and dynamic new livery – it looks absolutely stunning.
“Last year was an incredible experience, reconnecting with the team, and this year, even more familiar faces have joined the effort, which makes this moment even more special and gives me great confidence. I can’t wait to get to work.”
The driver of the No. 75 car will become RLL’s fourth entry in the race alongside Louis Foster, Graham Rahal and Devlin DeFrancesco.
At IMS, the team has had a difficult time in recent years becuase Rahal got bumped out of the race in Last Chance Qualifying two years ago.
Sato should be able to provide some much needed stability over the month of May for a team that only saw Rahal finish the season opener at St. Petersburg on the lead lap.
Co-owner Bobby Rahal is delighted to work with Takuma Sato
Sato has been blisteringly fast on an array of ovals over his career, which should stand him in good stead at Indianapolis.
Bobby Rahal is looking forward to rekindling his relationship with Sato after taking victory together at The Brickyard in 2020.
He said: “We are excited to have Takuma part of our Indy 500 program again. His experience, talent and bravado at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in particular, is evident by his two wins. The work ethic he brings, in addition to his attention to detail, adds immeasurable value to our program.”
