“It was bizarre,” Takuma Sato admits.
Current on the season-opening NTT IndyCar Collection race in St. Petersburg together with his new Chip Ganassi Racing staff, the IndyCar veteran had no particular function to play because the 2023 season bought underneath approach. He’s been by way of the state of affairs as soon as earlier than when his Tremendous Aguri Method 1 staff misplaced funding and fell out of the collection after 4 rounds in 2008; it took almost a yr and a half of sitting idle and an eventual funding from his financial savings into the KV Racing IndyCar staff to rekindle his profession with a reboot in America.
Signed to an oval-only take care of the defending Indianapolis 500 winners, Sato arrived at St. Pete the place he raced 13 straight occasions from 2010-22 and spent the weekend sitting in on CGR’s engineering conferences and attending to know the crew who will run him within the No. 11 Honda.
Set for his debut with the staff throughout Sunday’s PPG 375 race, the 46-year-old Japanese ace is making an attempt to regulate to a really totally different actuality the place he isn’t lining up for a full-season marketing campaign.
“I don’t suppose any driver likes this example (of going part-time), however given the circumstances for me at this level, I wish to go for the wins,” Sato advised RACER. “I wish to go along with a really aggressive staff, and clearly, the chance got here collectively to drive for Chip Ganassi.
“If I used to be a really younger, recent driver that wanted to realize expertise, I’d go along with a really good, small staff full-time simply to realize expertise. However at this level for me, Ganassi is only a implausible resolution. In my Method 1 days, it was a unique story. It was only a nightmare to me when it stopped, and I didn’t have something to drive. However this time, it’s totally different. I’ve been given a really restricted alternative most drivers don’t get, so I’m very excited.”
One other side of Sato’s begin to the season on the wickedly quick 1.5-mile Texas oval that may’t be ignored is his lack of testing and seat time previous to Saturday morning’s opening follow session.
“I’ll want a pair laps…simply to get snug with the atmosphere,” he mentioned. “The final time I used to be within the automobile was (final September) at Laguna Seca within the ultimate IndyCar race. And so to correctly get again up to the mark, I’m going to take it somewhat bit conservatively, simply step-by-step, as a substitute of going 210 miles an hour instantly. However I feel it shouldn’t take too lengthy.”
Constructing a rapport with race engineer Eric Cowdin, a fellow Indy 500 winner, and all the personnel concerned with operating the No. 11 Honda is one other side of Sato’s debut that might want to occur in a flash.
“That is one other bizarre feeling the place now you’re within the Ganassi camp and with all of the groups that I used to be competing for earlier than, I used to be at all times making an attempt to beat them and now I’m inside the staff,” he mentioned. “It has been fairly fascinating this offseason; I’ve been to the store a few occasions, not only for the seat becoming, but in addition a number of occasions to undergo issues with engineers.
“I used to be there your complete weekend with the staff at St. Petersburg, finishing little items of the puzzle on a regular basis. Though you’re not driving, you’re studying fairly massively. So now we are going to study for the primary time collectively at a race. There’s a variety of nice drivers right here to work with and significantly Scott Dixon; there’s been a mutual respect for a very long time and now we’re teammates. And naturally, the 2 Marcus’ (Ericsson and Armstrong) and Alex Palou. It’s a variety of aggressive drivers in a aggressive staff and it’s a implausible place for me.”
With 5 ovals on his calendar with CGR, Sato hopes so as to add extra victories to his document — kissing the bricks for a 3rd time on the Speedway can be atop the record — after which take inventory of whether or not he desires to pursue a return in no matter capability subsequent yr.
“I’ll check out regardless of the alternative is for the long run,” he added. “And never simply in IndyCar. Clearly, this restricted program for the ovals wasn’t my first selection, however going with Chip Ganassi Racing, significantly for the Indy 500, that’s probably the most engaging race for me. Hopefully this yr, we’ve got an excellent package deal once more after which have a powerful race. However for the long run, I’ve no plans, no choices or something. We’ll do these races collectively after which see.”
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