Two-time Indianapolis 500 Champion Takuma Sato is joining a new team for the upcoming NTT IndyCar Series season, as it was announced Thursday that he has signed with Dale Coyne Racing for 2022. Sato will serve as the new driver of Coyne’s No. 51 Honda fielded in conjunction with Rick Ware Racing.
An IndyCar veteran of 12 seasons and the only Japanese driver in history to win the Indianapolis 500, Sato joins Dale Coyne Racing after spending the past four seasons with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato replaces Romain Grosjean, who left the team for a ride with Andretti Autosport, as the driver of the No. 51.
Speaking to David Malsher-Lopez of Motorsport.com, Sato stated that part of the appeal of Coyne’s team was how competitive his cars have been at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sato’s greatest success in IndyCar has come in the Indianapolis 500, as he won the 2017 and 2020 editions of the race while also contending for the win in 2012.
“Dale’s team just understands how to be fast at the Speedway, whatever the conditions. That definitely attracts me – and actually, purely as a driver, I’m interested to drive his car and see how similar or different it is from the cars I had before,” Sato said. “For sure you would say it is one of the smaller teams, but they have shown consistent speed for many years.”
A native of Tokyo, Sato first came to prominence in auto racing through seven seasons in Formula 1 driving for Honda-backed teams like Jordan, British American Racing, and Super Aguri. But his greatest success as a driver has come in IndyCar, where he has become one of the more popular veteran drivers in American open wheel racing. At 44 years old, “Taku” has earned six career wins and 14 podiums in IndyCar, and finished a career-best seventh in points just two seasons ago.
