Detroit, MI (Saturday, June 4, 2022) – Takuma Sato gave himself and his Dale Coyne Racing with RWR team their best start so far this season by registering the second fastest lap in Saturday’s Firestone Fast 6 qualifying for the Detroit Grand Prix aboard his #51 Nurtec ODT (Rimegepant) Honda.
Starting: 2nd
Firestone Fast 6 – 2nd
Best lap: 1:15.3490
Fast 12 – 5th
Best Lap: 1:14.9363
Group 2 / Round 1 – 6th
Best Lap: 1:15.3911
- Sato’s second place in qualifying is his best start this season. His previous best start was a third place at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year.
- Today’s qualifying result is his second-best starting position on the racetrack at Belle Isle, having scored two pole positions in the past (2014 and 2017).
- The driver of the #51 Nurtec ODT Honda guaranteed himself a position in the Firestone Fast 6 after placing himself sixth in the first round of qualifying and fifth in the Fast 12.
- Sato sat in the provisional pole position until the final seconds of the six-minute session when Josef Newgarden bumped him to second with a time only 0.1337 seconds quicker.
- He is making his 18th start at the Detroit Grand Prix this weekend and has a best finish of second (Race 2, 2015).
- In six races in 2022, Sato has a best finish of 10th on the streets of St. Petersburg.
Takuma Sato #51 Nurtec ODT Honda – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR
“We’re really proud of the Dale Coyne Racing team. David (Malukas) pushed me so hard in the first two rounds and I was finally able to hook up quite a good lap on in the Firestone Fast Six. That was quite satisfying! We always knew that we had the speed, I just wasn’t able to put everything together aboard our Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Nurtec ODT Honda until that point. We were quite positive heading into the weekend, carrying the momentum from Indy. Everyone on the team is really happy, it’s an absolutely great team effort.”
dalecoyneracing.com 