Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver Takuma Sato continued his rich vein of form by finishing second at the Bommarito 500, close behind winner Scott Dixon.
Following on from his second victory at the famous Indianapolis 500, the Japanese arrived in Illinois as the defending champion and he so nearly pulled off another victory, leading for 14 laps and challenging for the win before finishing just 0.1404 behind eventual winner Dixon.
It could easily have been even better for Sato, had there not been an issue on the outside rear tires that delayed his final stop 2-3 seconds, and he returned to the track in third rather than maintaining the lead of the race.
“Obviously the team did a fantastic job,” said Sato afterward. “Since last week, we carried a lot of momentum. Big congrats to Scott and the Ganassi boys. We lost some places in the beginning of the race but we fought strong. The ABeam car was phenomenal.
“There was no doubt that I was disappointed to be second after the guys did a fantastic job today. Sometimes I make a mistake, sometimes there is a mechanical failure. Yes, there was an issue on the pit stop but everybody is on the same team. The 30 boys did a fantastic job two weeks in a row so I’m very proud of our effort.”
Second place for Sato means that he jumps from sixth to fourth in series point standings with a total of 248 points.
.@TakumaSatoRacer was on 🔥🔥🔥!
Congrats, @scottdixon9 pic.twitter.com/CGlmdxPExZ
— Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (@RLLracing) August 29, 2020