Near-flawless performance takes Sato to victory at Barber
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Sunday, April 7, 2019) – Takuma Sato drove flawlessly – almost – to win the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst and throw his name firmly into the NTT IndyCar Series championship conversation.
The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver made Scott Dixon a Barber Motorsports Park bridesmaid for a record sixth time, beating the reigning series champion to the finish line by 2.3874 seconds. It was the fourth win of Sato’s 10-year NTT IndyCar Series career, with the 42-year-old from Tokyo becoming the third different driver – each from a different team – to pull into victory lane in three races this season.
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Results Sunday of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama NTT IndyCar Series event on the 2.3-mile Barber Motorsports Park, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (1) Takuma Sato, Honda, 90, Running
2. (3) Scott Dixon, Honda, 90, Running
3. (5) Sebastien Bourdais, Honda, 90, Running
4. (16) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 90, Running
5. (8) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 90, Running
6. (4) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 90, Running
7. (20) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 90, Running
8. (11) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 90, Running
9. (14) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 90, Running
10. (17) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 90, Running
11. (7) Will Power, Chevrolet, 90, Running
12. (23) Zach Veach, Honda, 90, Running
13. (12) Jack Harvey, Honda, 90, Running
14. (13) Marco Andretti, Honda, 90, Running
15. (10) Santino Ferrucci, Honda, 90, Running
16. (18) Patricio O’Ward, Chevrolet, 90, Running
17. (6) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 90, Running
18. (19) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 89, Running
19. (21) Ed Jones, Chevrolet, 89, Running
20. (15) Matheus Leist, Chevrolet, 89, Running
21. (24) Ben Hanley, Chevrolet, 88, Running
22. (22) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 88, Running
23. (2) Graham Rahal, Honda, 55, Off Course
24. (9) Colton Herta, Honda, 51, Running
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 107.272 mph
Time of Race: 1:55:46.8076
Margin of victory: 2.3874 seconds
Cautions: 1 for 7 laps
Lead changes: 11 among six drivers
Lap Leaders:
Sato, Takuma 1 – 16
Rahal, Graham 17
Hinchcliffe, James 18
Rossi, Alexander 19
Bourdais, Sebastien 20 – 27
Sato, Takuma 28 – 36
Dixon, Scott 37
Hinchcliffe, James 38
Rossi, Alexander 39 – 40
Sato, Takuma 41 – 56
Dixon, Scott 57
Sato, Takuma 58 – 90
NTT IndyCar Series point standings: Newgarden 125, Dixon 98, Sato 91, Rossi 84, Herta 81, Bourdais 72, Hinchcliffe 71, Hunter-Reay 66, Power 66, Andretti 61.
