Sato’s first victory after the Indy500 came on Sunday at Portland International Raceway, as the Verizon Indycar Series made its first stop in Portland in 11 years.
Two years after he got to kiss the bricks and drink the milk, Takuma Sato made it back to the top step of the podium at the Grand Prix of Portland. It was the return race for Indycar at Portland International Raceway, since the last time on the circuit in 2007. The fans welcomed Indycar back with enthusiasm and lined up by the gate early in the day to enjoy the spectacle of Indycar racing, Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, and USF2000. Sato started 20th and made up 20 positions to win the race, establishing a new local record for the number of positions gained during a race.
On qualifying day, Will Power set the fastest lap, and was given the pole position, surpassing A.J. Foyt for the number of career poles. With 54 career poles, Power is now second only to Mario Andretti who is the all-time leader with a total of 67 career poles. Power also set a new track record during the second round of qualifying, with a fast lap of 57.2143 seconds.
With the good results from qualifying, most spectators were betting on a close fight between the Firestone Fast Six: 1. Will Power, 2. Josef Newgarden, 3. Alexander Rossi, 4. Sebastien Bourdais, 5. Ryan Hunter-Reay, 6. Zach Veach.
It was a great result in qualifying for Sebastien Bourdais, and a testimony to the hard-working crews of Team Dayle Coyne Racing – as three crews came together to help make up a ‘Frankenstein car’ for Bourdais, after his close encounter with the tire wall during practice. Piecing together parts of a backup car, and working frantically, the crews rebuilt Sebastien’s car in three hours, a massive undertaking under the pressure of making the cut on time for qualifying.
Dixon qualified 11th, which seemed to give Will Power a good advantage for gaining precious Championship points. Alexander Rossi, who qualified third, was poised to gain some points as well, as he was starting the race just 26 points behind Dixon in the classification. The 6th place qualifying was also the best result so far for rookie Zach Veach, who had been steadily improving his performance from race to race.
As the race started, an accident early in the race changed the picture completely.
Turn three proved to be the game changer during the first lap of the race, as rookie Zach Veach pushed James Hinchcliffe into the curb at the entrance to the turn. Hinch’s car spun with the incoming traffic, and Marco Andretti’s car flew over Hinch’s and Jones’ and landed upside down. More incoming cars could not avoid contact, and by the time the dust and debris cleared, five cars were stopped in the grass: Hinch, Andretti, Jones, Rahal, Dixon. Bourdais had some front-end damage but avoided the majority of the chaos and was able to continue. Andretti emerged from the car looking fine, to his own disbelief, and so did the other drivers. The race was over however for Andretti and Jones, while the other drivers attempted to continue. Rahal continued for a few more laps while Hinch had some extensive repairs done to the car, and then went on for 76 more laps, but eventually, both had to set out in 22nd and 23rd.
Scott Dixon, the point leader at the start of the race, was relieved to see his car still functional despite the contact. There was some damage to the front wing and the nose, but he was able to stop in pit lane under caution and get a new front wing and new tires to continue the race. He drove the remainder of the race quite conservatively, doing his best at saving fuel and managing the car. He eventually got charged with a penalty for speeding in the pits, but still finished the race in fifth position, keeping his leader position in the classification, and extending his lead over Rossi to 29 points.
Will Power, Josef Newgarden, and Alexander Rossi – who started in the lead, completed the first lap unaware of the chaos behind them. As Will Power kept leading the race through the first few laps, something was wrong with his gearbox; by the end of the 7th lap, his car no longer had a first gear. The malfunction got worse and worse, until he pretty much did not have any gears to work with. Rossi took the lead for over 30 laps, and on lap 43, Power lost control of the car and slid off through turn 11 directly into the tire barrier of turn 12. The Team Penske crew worked hard to replace the gear box, the wing, and put Will Power back in the race, but it was too far behind to salvage at that point, and Power ended the day in 21st position. The gearbox failure not only cost the Australian the race, but also any realistic shot at being in contention for the Championship. His teammate Newgarden, the current Champion of the Indycar Series, also has very dim hope for the championship at this point, after he finished the race in 10th place. Both teammates are tied in the standings at 511 points, waiting for Sonoma. Rossi will also take his best shot in Sonoma, as he sits behind Dixon after finishing in 8th place.
This Portland GP however, was going to be Sato’s race. ‘Taku’ got in the lead exiting the pits, and from then onward, pit stop and fuel conservation strategies played their role, as Sato’s team planned the best attack out of the pits, gaining the lead and using his push-to-pass option on the straight. The additional stop for Sato proved the right tactical move, as he was able to gain and maintain his competitive advantage over both Sebastien Bourdais and Ryan Hunter-Reay in the last laps of the race.
This is the third victory of Sato’s career, and he looked absolutely ecstatic as he drove into victory lane. When interviewed right after his win, he replied to the reporters “I think this is one of the most beautiful days in my life again” as he treasured his first podium since the 2017 Indy500. It was almost an impossible task, making up so many positions after starting in 20th place, but yellow flags and some ever-present luck helped him keep the pace and hold off Hunter-Reay and Bourdais until the checkered flag.
The Verizon Indycar Series now moves on to Sonoma for the final race of this season, with Scott Dixon possibly on his way to a 5th championship.
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