Sato looking to pay back RLL for career support with Indy 500 victory

By May 21, 2019, 5:54 PM EDT
1 Comment

There are few people in the IndyCar paddock more kind and humble than Takuma Sato.

The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver has been a favorite among fans for his ‘no attack, no chance’ philosophy and aggressive driving style.

But Sato is also known as one of the most approachable drivers in the series, and he enters the 103rd running of the Indy 500 looking to give back to long-time supporters with another strong showing in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

THE 103RD INDIANAPOLIS 500: Click here for how to watch, full daily schedules

“There’s no easy way [to win the race], obviously,” Sato told NBC Sports. “I think it’s going to be quite challenging. We will compete with high hopes. I believe we are very capable of being very competitive on Sunday.”

With five races complete in the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season, Sato currently sits fifth in the points standings after three top 10 finishes, including a dominant win from the pole at Barber Motorsports Park where he led 74 of 90 laps.

Though there is not much of a comparison between the road and street courses that make up the first five races of the schedule, Sato said that a great start of the season can relieve a considerable amount of stress when entering the month of May.

“In terms of the team’s morale and motivation and just the overall environment, it’s more comfortable,” Sato said. “You enter the month of May with high hopes. I think everything works better when you have a good start.”

Sato knows what it’s like to have a great month of May in Indianapolis. He qualified fourth in 2017 for Andretti Autosport after showing speed all month and led 17 laps, including the final six, to become the 71st different driver to win the 500.

The victory was the biggest of his career. But despite winning one of the biggest events in sports, Sato didn’t want the victory to be all about him.

“Obviously, I felt such great satisfaction [by winning], but also it was such a nice way to give back to the people who have been supporting me for a long time. Fans, sponsors, family. To share such a fantastic moment together was probably the biggest thing for me.”

Now, Sato hopes to share another Indy win with Bobby Rahal, David Letterman and Mike Lanigan, the same three men whom he drove for in the 2012 race – in which he made a daring attempt to pass Dario Franchitti on the inside for the lead on the final lap.

Unfortunately for Sato, he lost control, spun, and hit the wall. But despite his defeat, Sato did not lose any support from his team.

“Mike Lanigan has been such a huge supporter of mine since 2012,” Sato said. “We’ve had a great relationship since then. Even when I was racing with different teams, he’d always come and congratulate me and cheer for me.

“When I finally came back to race for Bobby and Mike last year, I was really happy to carry his Mi-Jack sponsorship. The company was founded by his father, and unfortunately Mike’s father passed away this year, so he wanted to have a tribute for his father.”

In honor of the late Lanigan, Sato’s Indy 500 entry will sport Mi-Jack’s red and yellow colors in a livery similar to the one Conquest Racing ran during the mid-2000s, when Mike was the team’s co-owner.

Although Sato stated that he looks forward to Sunday’s race and is hopeful he runs well, he acknowledges that a good finish at the Brickyard requires an error-free performance. Sato will start from the 14th position.

“Everything has to be perfect,” Sato said. “You need a strong team, a fast car, good driver and even a little bit of luck. Every single piece of the puzzle needs to come together to become a winner. Winning the 500 is just so special.

“Obviously everyone wants to win, and so do I. Hopefully we can pull off another great win.”

Follow Michael Eubanks on Twitter 

Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
2 Comments

LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).