As the silly season continues its rumour generation, the latest speculation centres around where ex- F1 racer Takuma Sato might end up – and it may or may not be with his long-time backer Honda.
After two seasons with KV Racing who have already confirmed their use of the Chevrolet powerplant next season, Sato is one of the more high-profile free agents, and with many top teams’ seats already full or near to it, keeping his loyalty with long-time backer Honda certainly narrows the options of the teams known to be running Hondas next year.
Not expected to sign with AJ Foyt and with Sam Schmidt believed to have its driver line-up sorted (but unannounced) at present, the most likely option may be the re-energised Rahal Letterman Lanigan team, who have confirmed they have spoken to Sato.
While learning his craft with KV yielded fruit in 2011 as Sato was clearly much more disciplined behind the wheel compared to the crash-fest that was 2010, a step into a nurturing, yet less forgiving, environment could be just what the doctor ordered.
The Japanese driver’s season high-lights were a pair of pole positions earned at Iowa and Edmonton; he also earned three top-five finishes and St Petersburg, Texas and Mid-Ohio.
Should the deal be done with RLL, Sato’s first IndyCar victory should be just around the corner.
[Article by Matt Lennon; images via LAT]
Richard Bailey
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