RacingNation.com

Sato’s Indy 500 Victory The Morning After

Takuma Sato with his Indianapolis 500 winning car at the Speedway. [Joe Jennings Photo]

Takuma Sato poses in his Indianapolis 500 winning car.  [Joe Jennings Photo]

 

by  Joe Jennings

INDIANAPOLIS – Takuma Sato returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday morning for the customary photoshoot for the winning driver, his team and sponsors followed by the winner’s press conference.  Even though he only got three hours of sleep after fulfilling endless rounds of worldwide interviews and participating in a late night team party, he continued to sport his gracious manners and winning smile.

Of note, just as the wave of interviews in the United States was dying down, Japan was just awakening, so new rounds of interviews were starting. “Everybody is so happy, and I’ve got — I don’t know, probably hundreds, 1,000 emails by now with all the SMS congrats and things and congrats from the fans and across families. It’s just great. It’s just nonstop, nonstop going, but I must admit, this is the happiest things, and yeah, I can get on with that.”

After awakening, he had to pinch himself to make certain his winning the Indianapolis 500 actually happened.  “I had a headache and kind of feeling not great, and oh, my gosh, was it just a dream?” he wondered. “But my manager said, come on, you’ve got five minutes to go for the interview. Okay, now it’s real. So it was nice to see it actually happened.”

During the photoshoot, Sato and winning car owner Michael Andretti inspected up close the likenesses of the winning drivers on the glistening Borg-Warner trophy sitting next to his car, realizing his image will be added soon.

Sato’s reaction, “Wow, that will be like wow factor I think. I can’t wait to see my face on the historical trophy. I mean, I was happy enough to have my face on the Long Beach plate, too. So now I’ve got the best trophy in the world, with my name on it forever. That means something very, very special. I’m extremely happy about that.”

Queried as to he realized from the start of practice he had a potentially winning car, Sato said, “I couldn’t picture myself winning, but always winning is our aim. So obviously we race here, the only reason is go for the win, of course.  I thought the car has got tremendous speed, and from talking with my race engineer, I knew from the numbers it looked quite promising.”

While Sato’s early interests were developed around Formula 1, he heard about the Indianapolis 500 and his enthusiasm grew over the years and thanks to Jimmy Vasser he got his chance, a chance he capitalized on with the crowning glory taking place on Sunday, May 28, when he outdueled perennial favorite Helio Castroneves to win the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500.

His schedule for next few days will be a hectic one, starting with Monday night’s victory banquet followed by a media tour to New York City and Dallas before ending up in Detroit next weekend for a double-header of Verizon IndyCar Series action at Belle Isle.

Sato is not only fast on the track but his charming personality should serve as a boost for the sport, both nationally and on the international front.

 

 

Share Button