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Radoye

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Sato denies Dixon as Indy 500 ends under caution due to heavy crash for Pigot

IndyCar

23rd August 2020, 22:49

Written by Keith Collantine


 

Takuma Sato scored his second victory in the Indianapolis 500 after passing Scott Dixon, who had controlled proceedings for much of the day.

 
The race ended under yellow flags following a huge crash for Spencer Pigot in the final laps of the race.

 

Marco Andretti led the field away from pole position but immediately lost his starting advantage to Dixon, who swept around the outside of him heading into turn one. From that moment on, the Ganassi driver looked like the man to beat. But an afternoon littered with Safety Car appearances brought a succession of rivals into his orbit.

 

A bizarre failure on James Davison’s car seven laps into the race brought an early interruption to proceedings. Debris flew from the front-right wheel assembly of the Coyne/Ware/Byrd/Belardi-run car, followed by a build-up of heat. As Davison tried to bring his car into the pits a full conflagration took hold, forcing him to come to a stop while safety crews tended to the blaze.

 

A handful of runners near the tail of the field took the opportunity to pit. The remainder headed in later when the first crash of the day prompted a second caution period. Marcus Ericsson, one of Dixon’s two Ganassi team mates, smacked the turn two barrier hard and climbed out of his car.

 

Start, Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2020

Dixon took the lead off Andretti at the start

 

Dixon led most of the field in and out of the pits. But Ryan Hunter-Reay, who’d gained ground at the start, slipped back when he caught traffic on his way out.

 

Oliver Askew, who’d been among the first group of drivers to pit, led the field at the restart but soon lost his advantage to defending winner Simon Pagenaud. Both were doomed to lose their advantage when they pitted under green flags on lap 45, at which point quick McLaren SP pit work got Askew back ahead of his rival.

 

Dixon therefore regained the lead while Askew and Pagenaud took up the chase. The Ganassi driver, wary of his fuel consumption, was content to spend a spell in the slipstream of the last driver on the lead lap, Fernando Alonso, until the numbers on his dash display started to look more encouraging.

 
 

Alonso’s place on the lead lap was temporarily saved when Dalton Kellett crashed, triggering the third Safety Car appearance of the day. This was followed soon after by the fourth, as Conor Daly spun on the restart and Askew, following behind, went off with him. The McLaren SP driver hit the SAFER barrier hard, and thankfully climbed out of his car.

 

The race resumed with half of the 200 laps completed and Dixon leading, while behind Alexander Rossi passed Sato to take up the charge against the Ganassi driver. This fight promised to have real teeth, Rossi having pushed Pagenaud every lap of the way 12 months earlier. But it started to come undone when Alex Palou hit the wall, causing the fifth caution period.

 

The field headed to the pits en masse but Rossi, following a slow right-rear wheel change, emerged from his pit box into the side of Sato. Race Control were quick to announce an investigation and soon afterwards ordered Rossi to drop to the tail of the field.

 

It was the beginning of the end. The 2016 winner was soon on the attack, passing a string of cars, aided by Pagenaud slowing dramatically when he nudged the rear of Hunter-Reay. But on the 145th lap Rossi twitched wide at turn two and thumped into the barrier, ending his day.

 

The race resumed with 45 laps to go and the field needing one more pit stop to reach the chequered flag. Dixon led Sato, while behind them Josef Newgarden moved into third at the expense of Graham Rahal.

 

The final pit stops were made under green flag conditions. Despite a slightly slow pit stop, Dixon rejoined the track with the effective lead of the race intact. But Sato, revelling in his car’s handling in the final stint, cruised up behind the Ganassi and put a move on him for the effective lead of the race.

 

Once the remaining drivers pitted, Sato became the true leader and was on course for a repeat of his 2017 victory. Dixon was in hot pursuit but the Ganassi driver didn’t seem as strong in the final laps, and Sato made light work of the inevitable traffic.

 

Takuma Sato, Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Indianapolis, 2020

The race ended under caution

 

With five laps to go the race was decided, ironically, by one of Sato’s team mates. Spencer Pigot lost his car at the exit of the final corner and spun backwards down the straight. But moments before striking the pit lane divider his car snapped broadside. Pigot suffered a heavy impact with the barrier which sent his car flying back across to the other side of the track.

 

Happily, the RLL driver was recovered from the car. But with the barrier needing extensive repairs, race control decided against red-flagging proceedings, and let the race finish under the seventh caution period of the day.

 

Sato’s other team mate, Graham Rahal, followed Dixon in third ahead of Santino Ferrucci and Newgarden. Pato O’Ward, who had his McLaren SP up to second at one stage, collected sixth. His team mate Alonso had an anonymous third appearance at the speedway, finishing a lapped 21st.

 

James Hinchcliffe recovered from a slow pit stop to take seventh place. Colton Herta, Jack Harvey and Hunter-Reay completed the top 10.

 

 

Edited by Radoye
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MILLER: A very 2020 afternoon

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Abbott/Motorsport Images

 

By Robin Miller | 3 hours ago

 

 

Did you really expect the 2020 Indianapolis 500 to end any other way?

 

The longest, loneliest and latest racing classic ever run here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a good race that finished under bad circumstances. Anytime a race ends under caution at 60 mph it sucks for the fans, and all the competitors except for the guy leading.

 

When Spencer Pigot piled into the attenuator at the head of the pits with five laps to go, the immediate thought was ‘let’s go red flag,’ because it had happened in 2014 with seven laps left, and again last year with 18 laps remaining. This year’s race was a different animal, because the attenuator was destroyed, and IMS officials estimated it would have taken an hour to repair. NBC wasn’t about to fill that kind of a hole.

 

And the history of Indy isn’t about trying to ensure a green-white-checker finish – that’s why Sato joined Rick Mears (1988), Emerson Fittipaldi (1989), Helio Castroneves (2002), Buddy Rice (2004), Dan Wheldon (2005, 2011), Dario Franchitti (2007, 2010, 2012) and Tony Kanaan (2013) in taking the checkered flag at a reduced speed behind the pace car.

There was nobody in the grandstands to boo, but the texts and emails about feeling robbed by the IndyCar officials were blowing up five minutes after the race.

 

And naturally, a restart would have been exciting since Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal were right in Sato’s wake before Pigot’s accident. But the 43-year-old Japanese veteran wasn’t given anything – he earned it.

 

Sato took away what looked like a sure victory for Dixon with laps of 221-220 mph as he held off the Kiwi the final 16 laps in his RLL Honda while handling traffic with the poise he didn’t have 10 years ago.

 

Indianapolis is a cruel place, always has been, always will be, and Dixie deserved a better fate after leading 111 laps, getting fantastic pit stops all day from his Ganassi crew and performing like a five-time champion.

 

There have been many times in Indy’s history where the fastest, most dominant car didn’t win (Mario in 1987 and Michael Andretti in 1992) but this was more of a case where the fastest car at the end pulled into Victory Lane.

 

Starting third, Sato hung around the front all day, running from third to sixth, yet never flexed his muscles until he passed Dixon for the lead on lap 157. After their final pit stops, Scott was back in front but Sato made what turned out to be the race-winning pass on lap 170 when they sat third behind the off-sequence Zach Veach and Max Chilton.

 

It was at that point when it appeared that maybe the 2008 Indy 500 winner was content to sit behind the 2017 Indy winner, biding his time and saving fuel until getting the command to go full rich and track down the second-oldest driver in the field.

 

“I think I had fastest car in the last 30 laps,” said Sato as co-owner David Letterman hugged him in Victory Lane. “It was good all day, but it was really fast at the end when I needed it to be and I can’t thank RLL crew enough.”

 

Engineer Eddie Jones and strategist Derek Davidson (a former USAC sprint racer) have meshed well with the guy who always seemed to crash at inopportune times (pit lane in Pocono, first lap at Pocono) and had a wild streak despite his speed. He managed one win (2013) during his first seven seasons before winning Indy for Andretti Autosport in 2017. But with RLL he seems to have matured into a thinking man’s racer, and has now won four times in three years.

 

Is he getting better as he gets older? “I don’t know,” he responded. “Look, Helio is still on his game, and Tony (Kanaan). I think this sport, just name the sport, Olympic athletes have to be premium ages — 20s and 30s. But in motor racing, was long as you’re fit enough to drive the car, why not? I know the car is different today to 43 to me is only a number.”

 

The key numbers Sunday were zero spectators, a race that didn’t end until almost 6 p.m. and car No.30 in the winner’s circle. Fortunately, Sato had heard all the cheers in 2017 so it wasn’t too tough to only celebrate with his immediate racing family. In all the pre-race talk, few were mentioning Taku as someone to keep an eye on, but that’s nothing new because he’s never really been labeled a favorite.

 

But all he answers to now is two-time Indy winner.

 

 

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Velika blamaza Alonsa. Nakon onog debija ocekivao sam danas mnogo vise, ali on se ovim osramotio koliko i Vettel ovogodisnjim ucinkom u F1.

Posle njega navijao sam za Sata pa Rosija i bas mi je drago za Takuma Sana, mada je realno Dikson sinoc bio najjaci.

 

Nazalost previse je  taktiziranja i cuvanja goriva u ovoj trci da bi bila bas interesantna.

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Nisam stigao ni da prokomentarišem trku, završila se i ja odma u krpe. Spavao samo 3 sata pre posla.

 

Čestitke Satu na pobedi, divno je sačuvao vodeće mesto. Dikson se isto lepo borio. Nisam ispratio šta je Alonsa zadesilo jer sam bio kod brata ali sad čitam šta se tu izdešavalo. Ovako na prvu njegove igre gde se "one off-uje" svake godine na Indiju mu nikad neće doneti pobedu, ipak moraš srastati s bolidom i da iako je malo loš dovedeš na neki nivo (Alonso valjda zna to najbolje) ali tu ne možeš biti čarobnjak pa u par treninga srasti s bolidom.

 

Isto tako mora naći neki kompromis pa ući u bolje ekipe, ali zato mora celu sezonu izvesti. Ako mu je cilj trostruka kruna onda je morao ceo svoj život posvetiti Indiju umesto da radi ove ekskurzije.

 

Glede udesa Pižota, uff ja se baš uplašio. Odma mi je Perez iz VN Monaka 2011 došao na pamet. Sva sreća prošao je dobro. Moram spomenuti da sam uživao u trci, malo sam pojačao i ježio se kad su prikazali one kamere s zida a bolidi ko ose lete. Wow, koji užitak.

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Sato praises RLL team, engineer Jones, for stunning Indy 500 win

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Michael Levitt / Motorsport Images

 

By Marshall Pruett | 22 hours ago

 

Takuma Sato’s stunning second victory at the Indianapolis 500 left some of his rivals in a state of confusion.

 

Making his final pit stop one lap before presumptive winner Scott Dixon, Sato drove past the 2008 Indy 500 winner to take the lead and, based on those rivals’ fuel calculations, the No. 30 Honda was expected to coast to a stop before reaching the finish line. Thanks to the unfortunate accident by Spencer Pigot, Sato’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammate, the final laps of the contest were run under cautionary speeds which, in theory, saved the 43-year-old from fuel-related heartbreak.

 

In revealing his critical efforts to save fuel while being chased by the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, Sato offers a different view of the situation.

 

“The last stint, yes, the fuel mileage was a key and I know Dixon had a one more lap, a little bit (more) luxury than us,” he said. “I had to dive into the pits because I led the race earlier, so I was short. But, if you scan the radio, you know I was hitting a number I needed to finish, even without yellow. Yes, we were able, I had to go through the (fuel) mixture, lean the mixture, even in the short chutes. and whenever Scott (caught) me and (made) some attempts for overtaking, I was obviously (full) power, best mixture, as soon as he pulled out. (Then it was going back) to the leanest mixture.”

 

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Sato: “I was hitting a (fuel) number I needed to finish, even without yellow.” Image by Baker/Motorsport Images

 

Sato describes using the first half of the 200-lap race to try various fuel-saving techniques, and changing the point in each stint where he placed the greatest load on his tires, to use the findings for the final sprint to the checkered flag. Coincidentally, the last stint was the only time during the Indy 500 where Sato was able to pull away from Dixon.

 

“So I was obviously working really hard as well with traffic, because the traffic, they’re doing their race,” he said. “So it was a little bit tough. But I like this intense situation, and especially for the first hundred laps, because obviously the one-car tow, double-car tow, and three cars is different in terms of the fuel mileage, as well as the balance of car and the Firestone tires, where you put the peak on the stint. Is it the earlier part, or middle part or the last part of the stint?

 

“So I was working on the entire 100 laps. When I had opportunity to catch the back of Dixie (as they approached 180 laps), you got to go, you got to go try to challenge him. Now, of course after that, he was actually working for the fuel. Therefore, they made it one lap longer than us. The last stint was just so intense, but the team did a mega job in terms of calculating fuel. And of course, all the 30 (car) boys did amazing jobs for the pit stops. That’s why I was able to run in the top three, top five, (the) entire race.”

 

Sato came within one lap of winning the 2012 Indy 500 for RLL, and after earning his first Speedway win in 2017 with Michael Andretti’s team, the chance to take the organization owned by Bobby Rahal, David Letterman, and Mike Lanigan back to Victory Lane – with Graham Rahal matching a career-best finish in third – was made possible by superb strategy, engineering, and execution.

 

Sato also credits his teammate with elevating the program’s competitiveness at Indy after missing some speed during last year’s race.

 

“I just feel thankful to the entire team,” he said. “You know, (we) didn’t particularly have superspeedway performance, but Graham, he’s actually very technically minded. He’s commitment to pulling all the team together, and then (Rahal’s engineer Allan) McDonald’s came in. And of course, (my engineer) Eddie Jones, working all the time with me; and the continuous (work of the team owners). This is made (to) happen by them. So it’s a huge credit for the team.”

 

Sato closed by paying tribute to Jones, the quiet, but exemplary race engineer from England. As a former racer, and open-wheel chassis designer, few engineers on pit lane possess his vast experience, which has served countless drivers like Sato at Indianapolis over the years.

 

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Sato’s engineer Eddie Jones (right) added a second Indy 500 victory to his impressive and lengthy resume. Image by Levitt/Motorsport Images

 

“What an amazing engineer Eddie Jones is,” he said of his friend who also became a two-time Indy 500 winner on Sunday, adding to the victory captured with Dan Wheldon in 2005. “He knows about business in the cockpit doing 200 miles an hour, which is the number one thing. He still remembers the feeling. Obviously, (Jones’ era of driving) is different, but you know, what the hell, the car’s a car. So, he knows everything, plus all the vehicle dynamics; and he’s amazing at working (on) details.

 

“You know, whoever the driver was with him – Danica (Patrick) and Marco (Andretti) and Dario Franchitti, and of course the great Dan Wheldon – you name it, so many great drivers had succeeded because of (Jones). Eddie succeeds behind the scene for the driver. This is (an) amazing guy. So all the credit, once again, (goes to the) 30 (car) boys and Eddie Jones. He made this win happen.”

 

 

 

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Rossi penalty "unfortunate" but within the rules – Sato

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Levitt/Motorsport Images

 

By Mark Glendenning | 21 hours ago

 

 

Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato says he feels sympathy for Alexander Rossi after the latter’s race was ruined by a pitlane penalty, although he believes that the stewards’ hands were tied by the rules.

 

Rossi had been trading the lead with Scott Dixon during the mid-point of the race and was running fourth when the bulk of the field pitted under a yellow. Amid the chaos of a packed pitlane, he was released into the path of Sato, who was already boxed in by Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward to his right. The pair made harmless wheel-to-wheel contact, but Rossi was subsequently sent to the back of the field as a punishment for an unsafe release, and crashed out while trying to fight his way back.

 

“That was very unfortunate for Alex,” Sato told RACER. “Fundamentally, when the driver has been told to go out… you go for it, so there’s really nothing he could do. However with the congestion, it was very difficult circumstance. I had Pato on the outside, so I couldn’t go anywhere. I hit the brakes as hard as I could and tried to avoid Rossi, but we made contact.

 

“But IndyCar’s written rule about the high-speed lane and the low-speed lane is that if there is a car in the low-speed lane, you simply can’t release. That’s the written rule. So I think IndyCar’s race stewards simply followed the rule book. It’s shame for [Rossi]; he got penalized for that. But it was just a very unfortunate incident.”

 

 

 

 

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Vec ovog vikenda na redu je dabl-heder na Gejtveju kraj St.Luisa, poslednje dve trke na ovalu.

 

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Gateway19.33d111e9b7aafc4f39d2ccabe1ac97

Gejtvej je oval starog kova iako je sagradjen tek pre nekih 25 godina, duzine kruga 1 1/4 milje u obliku spajalice s jednim krajem uzim od drugoga i relativno malim nagibom u krivinama. Indikar je ovde gostovao prakticno od samog pocetka, prva trka (pod sankcijom CART) vozena je 1997. godine  i vozi je paralelno sa Indi 500 vikendom u vreme rascepa izmedju CART/IRL. 2001. trku preuzima IRL i vozi je do 2004, da bi ponovo usla na kalendar tek 2017. Ovih zadnjih par sezona trke su bile prilicno zanimljive a takodje i dobro posecene pa je Gejtvej brzo postao jedna od omiljenih stanica na kalendaru Indikar sampionata. Trka se vozi sa aero-paketom za "redovne" staze, preticanje je moguce ali ne i gotova stvar zbog relativno kratkih pravaca gde efekat zavetrine ne dolazi do izrazaja a timovi moraju da naprave odluku hoce li svoje bolide setapovati za krivine 1 i 2 (vise prianjanja, sacuvati gume ceo stint) ili za krivine 3 i 4 (manje prianjanja, maksimalna brzina po jednom krugu). Zbog male duzine kruga pitstopovi su ovde izuzetno "skupi", cesto se izgubi dva cela kruga tako da svi zele da minimizuju odlaske u boks ali sa druge strane na svezim gumama bolidi imaju ogromnu prednost i pretice se kao u igrici, kako je to jednom prilikom opisao Dzozef Njugarden. To znaci da trka cesto evoluira u nekoliko grupa sa razlicitim taktikama koje se naizmenicno sustizu i prestizu tokom cele trke tako da se uvek nesto dogadja.

 

Istorijski ovde niko od vozaca nije dvaput pobedjivao, a pobedu brani aktuelni dvostruki Indi 500 sampion Takuma Sato. U konkurenciji timova ovo je Penskijeva teritorija, Kapetan je ovde uzeo 5 pobeda dok mu je najblizi pratilac Ganasi sa dve.

_JGS-2019-GATEWAY-244384-1.jpg

Ove godine se zbog poznate situacije vozi dabl-heder vikend sto znaci da je duzina svake pojedinacne trke skracena sa nekih ~ 500km na ~400 (sa 248 krugova na 200). Format vikenda bice slican onome sto smo videli u Ajovi sa slobodnim treningom u petak, jednim kvalifikacijama u subotu ujutro sa dva brza kruga gde prvi odredjuje grid za subotnju vecernju trku a drugi za nedeljnu, i trkama u subotu i nedelju (3 popodne po lokalnom, 9 uvece po srednjeevropskom).

Sto se tice kalendara Indikar sampionata, trenutno prva potvrdjena naredna trka posle ovog vikenda je dabl-heder na granpri konfiguraciji staze u Indijanapolisu (treca i cetvrta ovogodisnja trka tamo) zakazan za 2. i 3. oktobar. Dabl-heder na Mid-Ohaju koji je trebalo da se vozi pre Indi 500 je odlozen uz za sada nepotvrdjen datum a portland i dabl-heder na laguna Seki su otkazani. To nas ostavlja sa 12 definitivno potvrdjenih trka (uz Indi dabl-heder tu je jos i St. Pit 25. oktobra) plus Mid-Ohajo za ukupno 14. Situacija je veoma fluidna, postoji sansa da se Mid-Ohajo udene u septembar, da se vozi u oktobru ili cak i da se uopste ne vozi...
 

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On 8/25/2020 at 1:33 PM, Radoye said:

Sto se tice kalendara Indikar sampionata, trenutno prva potvrdjena naredna trka posle ovog vikenda je dabl-heder na granpri konfiguraciji staze u Indijanapolisu (treca i cetvrta ovogodisnja trka tamo) zakazan za 2. i 3. oktobar. Dabl-heder na Mid-Ohaju koji je trebalo da se vozi pre Indi 500 je odlozen uz za sada nepotvrdjen datum a portland i dabl-heder na laguna Seki su otkazani. To nas ostavlja sa 12 definitivno potvrdjenih trka (uz Indi dabl-heder tu je jos i St. Pit 25. oktobra) plus Mid-Ohajo za ukupno 14. Situacija je veoma fluidna, postoji sansa da se Mid-Ohajo udene u septembar, da se vozi u oktobru ili cak i da se uopste ne vozi...

 

- Nezvanicno, Mid-Ohajo dabl-heder ce se voziti za vikend septembra 11-13, bez prisustva publike. Sto znaci da kalendar sampionata do kraja sezone izgleda ovako:

 

Gejtvej 1 (29. avgust)

Gejtvej 2 (30. avgust)

Mid-Ohajo 1 (12. septembar)

Mid-Ohajo 2 (13. septembar)

Indi GP 2 (2. oktobar)

Indi GP 3 (3. oktobar)

St. Pit (25. oktobar)

To nam daje ukupno 14 trka u sezoni.

Problem sa Mid-Ohajom je (uz onaj ocigledni, pandemiju koronavirusa) bio taj da su organizatori insistirali na prisustvu publike, ili ce biti gledalaca ili se nece voziti. Kako je postajalo sve jasnije da bi prisustvo publike bilo krajnje neodgovoran rizik pa je trka skinuta sa kalendara (tojest, odlozena sa neodredjenim datumom) izgleda da je doslo do nekakvih pomaka po tom pitanju pa je situacija resena. U Americi ovo nije samo cisto finansijsko pitanje (gubitak prihoda od ulaznica) nego i politicko, jer se ponasanje kao da se pandemija ne dogadja percepira kao podrska aktuelnoj administraciji u Beloj Kuci. Odrzavanje Indi 500 bez publike je izazvalo poprilican bes u jednom segmentu americke populacije sto se odrazilo i na znacajno smanjen broj TV gledaoca - za trecinu manji od proslogodisnjeg...

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Kad je Gateway sutra?

 

Inace, kad pricamo o "late bloomerima", Takuma je tu negde u samom vrhu. Covek je u dvadesetim bio klasizna kamikaza, danas vozi fantasticno.

Edited by John Terry
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