Greater consistency the goal for Sato in year two with Foyt

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Takuma Sato made more strides in his fourth IndyCar season, as he shifted to A.J. Foyt Racing and the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. Honda.

A seriously competitive first half included a front-row start in St. Petersburg, his first win at Long Beach and runner-up finish at Brazil, as he led the points entering the month of May at Indianapolis.

However the consistency tailed off in the second half, with only a seventh at Milwaukee (after leading a race-high 109 laps) and a pole at Houston Race 1 as major highlights.

There was enough achieved to provide hope and optimism for a better 2014. For Sato, he’ll have the comfort of entering a second season with the same team, an opportunity he’s only had once previously in his IndyCar career.

“We had a little up and down. There was some unfortunate things. Like you said, first half the season was really competitive, going everything well up until May,” Sato said at IndyCar media day in Orlando.

“I think this year obviously we’re trying to be competitive on as many circuits as possible and try to keep up all the points. That’s our target.”

The last time Sato stayed with the same team, with KV Racing from 2010 into 2011, he emerged with his best season yet in IndyCar.

That year, Sato scored his first two series poles, posted three top-five finishes and improved from 21st to 13th in the season points standings. He also improved his finishing record, going from seven of 17 races finished in 2010 to 14 of 17 in 2011, which remains the highest percentage he’s achieved thus far.

Sato was only running at the end of nine of 19 races in 2013. You figure if he can get to the flag of 14 or 15 of 18 races, he should be able to improve on his 17th place in points to the edge of the top-10.

And he does have the confidence knowing he has the outright pace to be in contention, as he enters another year working with engineer Don Halliday and the rest of the Larry Foyt-led crew.

“We know we can win the race,” Sato said. “We’ve learned a lot. It’s continually working. From first year to second year, it’s always better. I’m definitely looking forward to coming to the second season for A.J. Foyt Racing.”

Sato started the year off nicely, qualifying second at St. Petersburg last year. He and the team got an early handle on Firestone’s then-new-for-2013 compounds, and likes the opening round of the series.

“The previous year to last year, so 2012 to ’13, was the Firestone new tires made it dramatically balance, for example.  A lot of people come with a clean sheet of white paper and have to read the setup,” he explained. “Qualifying was quite exciting, getting front row.  Start of the season was fantastic.

“I like St. Pete. (It’s a good) combination of high-speed section, then going into Turn 1. The back of the track is very, very complex. Very narrow. So it’s a good combination.  Obviously St. Petersburg, I think it’s a great place to start the season. I always enjoyed it.”

Sato admitted that teams caught up rather quickly as they dialed in their setups with the new Firestones, and that negated the early pace edge.

“I think a lot of teams started catching up as the season went along. We weren’t maybe as fast as we could have been. That was a tough part of our first year. This year we continue working, should be better.”

Then, there was Long Beach, and all that the win meant for Sato, for ABC Supply, and for his home country of Japan.

“Not just my first major win in a major series, but also for the long time waiting for ABC, too.  It was a really perfect race for us,” he said. “Long Beach is one of the biggest events as a street course event, has the long history.

“The impact was just enormous, from the sponsors, fans, the people who cheering us. I immediately flew back to Japan after that and had a winning press conference at Tokyo. No, it definitely is one of the best days of my racing career.”

For as long as Sato has been in either Formula One or IndyCar, he’s been with Honda. So it should come as no surprise that he’d be one of the best drivers to know how to gauge the change the manufacturer makes from a single-turbo to a twin-turbo specification.

“The initial thought on the twin turbo, it’s very simple. It’s just the pickup. Very, very quick,” Sato said. “In turbine, instead of having a big single turbine, you have huge inertia to spin the turbine itself. Mechanically you pick up the good response.

“So from the transition from the front to the back of the car, it’s very naturally the torque coming through nicely. We all liked it. They’re working on peak power for the engine.  It seems to be we made a good step.”

After seasons getting acclimated to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Foyt’s teams, respectively, in the last two years, look for Sato to improve on the moments of brilliance he achieved in 2013, as he seeks a cleaner and more consistent 2014.

Jett Lawrence wins Hangtown Pro Motocross, remains perfect in 450s

Lawrence Hangtown Motocross
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Jett Lawrence remains perfect in the Pro Motocross series after recording another perfect round at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California. In his second start on a 450, Lawrence won his second National with his fourth consecutive moto win. It is getting increasingly difficult to find the right superlatives to describe the exploits on the reigning 250 West Supercross champion.

“The track was so brutal out there,” Lawrence told NBC Sports Jason Thomas. “The bike handles amazing even when it’s not too friendly. You had to be really patient; you couldn’t take too much. I didn’t eat enough before that second moto. I kind of lost energy halfway through, but luckily I could use technique and balance and just keep that flow going.”

Lawrence leaves Hangtown with an 18-point advantage over Ferrandis in the 450 Motocross standings, but perhaps more importantly, he climbed to 19th in the SuperMotocross standings and should he stay there, he has an automatic invitation to the Main events in the SMX Championship.

“On this track, you just have to manage,” Lawrence continued. “If you try to take too much and not respect the track, it will bite you very quickly. It was humbling on the first few laps. I got kicked on the cutout at the start of the third section, the tabletop going to the left. I had to get my focus because the boys were coming.”

Still in his first few races since returning from a concussion suffered at Houston in the Supercross series, Dylan Ferrandis finished second with results of third in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2. While Ferrandis was happy with the result, he remains hopeful that he will contend for victory shortly.

“The first moto was very hard for my physically, Ferrandis said. “I got arm pump and when you get arm pump your body gets tired. But I’m very happy because we made a big change for the second moto. We tried stuff every session today and in the last moto the bike was much better, but unfortunately I wasn’t sure what I could do with this bike because the track was very hard and difficult to pass.”

RESULTS: How they finished in the 450 Overall at Hangtown

With the rash of injuries at the end of the Supercross season, the podium was filled with heartwarming stories. Cooper Webb returned to action last week in Pala and failed to make the podium. He is steadily improving with a third-place finish in Hangtown. after finishing with a 4-2.

“It’s incredible what seven days can do,” Webb said. “Last week I felt like I was going to get lapped in the second moto. This week, I could see the leader. It was nice. I fought hard, learned how to suffer again there and that felt nice.

Moto 2 wasn’t pretty for Lawrence. On several occasions in the opening laps, he nearly high sided as he rode the front wheel through the ruts. The reward was worth the risk. By the halfway point, Lawrence had 4.5-second lead over Webb, who was embroiled in a tight three-rider battle for second with his teammate Aaron Plessinger pressuring him and Ferrandis ready to take advantage if those made contact.

It took 20 minutes for Plessinger to get around Webb and once he did, he trailed Lawrence by four seconds. But then, with three minutes remaining, Plessinger crashed and had difficulty restarting the bike, handing second back to Webb who has seven seconds behind Lawrence. Plessinger fell to fourth with results of third and sixth.

Adam Cianciarulo rounded out the top five with a 5-4.


Last week Hunter Lawrence won the overall with a 3-1. He repeated that feat in Hangtown in an exact replica of his Fox Raceway results last week. In Moto 1, Lawrence got off to a slow start and lost 10 seconds in the opening laps. Forced to overcome a sixth-place position in the race at the end of Lap 1, he once again caught the riders ahead of him when the field hit heavy traffic. For the second week, scored another 3-1 for the Hangtown National win.

“The start was crucial’ I knew I had to go,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “They laid a lot of water down, so I didn’t want to be behind any longer than [I was]. First hot one of the year, was a bit of a wakeup call, so I’m happy to get out of here safe and healthy.”

Lawrence’s third-place finish in Moto 1 featured a fierce battle for final spot on the podium when he caught Spain’s Guillem Farres and France’s Tom Vialle. With Lawrence hailing from Australia, the international nature of the sport was highlighted.

Lawrence left Hangtown with a 10-point advantage over Haiden Deegan in the Pro Motocross championship battle.

Click here for 250 overall results

Justin Cooper finished second in both motos to finish second overall. Hangtown represented a huge improvement from Fox Raceway where he finished fifth overall with a 5-4 finish in the two motos. Cooper pressured Haiden Deegan in the second half of Moto 1 and he earned the holeshot in the second moto and stayed within three seconds of Lawrence in that race.

“He was following me a little bit, checking out my lines, seeing where he was better,” Cooper said. “It’s disappointing to give up the lead like that but it was way better than last weekend. I will definitely take two seconds. I want to be on the top of the step. I feel like I get close to the top step but I never get it done. That’s building up the frustration – the fire. I really want to get one of these wins, so it’s time to start digging.”

Haiden Deegan earned the first holeshot of his career in Moto 1 and rode away from the field, building a four-second lead in the opening laps. Cooper trimmed the lead at the halfway point and for a while it leveled off at two seconds. Then Cooper made another charge with three to go and closed to within a second. Deegan was biding his time, however.

“I was saving a little. I knew at the end Justin was going to try and put a charge on. I let him get up close and then sent it super hard at the end to break him a little at the end.”

Deegan’s first moto win comes in only his fourth National and he remains perfect in regard to podiums this year.

“This was a dream since I was a little kid, to win,” Deegan said. “And in my fourth race, it’s gnarly. I was just sending it. I was getting a little tired at the end becasue I left my mouth open the whole time. It’s unreal; I’m so hyped. I wanted to win bad and I proved it to you guys.”

Chaos erupted in turn 1 in Moto 2 Jeremy Martin went and another rider ran over his arm. Michael Mosiman crashed further down the track on that same lap. Both riders were helped off course by the Alpinestars Medical team.

2023 Motocross Race Recaps

Fox Raceway: Jett Lawrence wins in first 450 start

2023 Supercross Race Recaps

Salt Lake City: Chase Sexton ends the season with win
Denver: Chase Sexton wins, takes points’ lead with Eli Tomac injury
Nashville: Chase Sexton keeps hope alive; Cooper Webb out
New Jersey: Justin Barcia wins muddy race; first in two years
Atlanta: Chase Sexton is back in the championship picture
Glendale: Eli Tomac wins 51st, breaks tie with James Stewart
Seattle: Eli Tomac wins and ties Webb for first
Detroit: Chase Sexton inherits win after Aaron Plessinger falls
Indianapolis: Ken Roczen gets first win in more than a year
Daytona: Eli Tomac extends Daytona record with seventh win
Arlington: Cooper Webb wins for second time, closes to two of Tomac
Oakland: Eli Tomac ties Ricky Carmichael with 48 wins
Tampa: Cooper Webb gets first 2023 win
Houston: Eli Tomac bounces back from A2 crash to win third race of 2023
Anaheim 2: Triple Crown produces new winners Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen
San Diego: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence double down
Anaheim 1: Eli Tomac wins opener for the first time

More SuperMotocross coverage

Chase Sexton is out for Hangtown
Enzo Lopes re-signs with Club MX for 2024
Record Supercross attendance reported in 2023
SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Pala
Results and points after Pala
Jett Lawrence wins Pala in his first MX start
450 Champion Chase Sexton takes back what he gave away
250 West Supercross champion Jett Lawrence ends dream career
250 East Supercross champion Hunter Lawrence overcomes doubt and injury