In final month’s Indianapolis 500, Takuma Sato demonstrated as soon as once more that age is a mere quantity as he led a major variety of laps on his approach to ninth place. Certainly, solely the smallest of braking misjudgements on pitlane value him a shot at a 3rd victory on the Speedway.
However, regardless of how spectacular his run on the wheel of a one-off further Honda-powered Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing automobile at Indy, through which he led a field-high 51 laps, there’s no escaping the truth that 48-year-old Sato is approaching the twilight of his profession.
Since 2002, thanks largely to the efforts of engine provider Honda, there has at all times been at the least one Japanese driver on the grid for the five hundred. Nonetheless, for years, there was no clear candidate to take over the baton from Sato, who made his debut approach again in 2010 after the collapse of the Tremendous Aguri workforce introduced his Method 1 profession to a untimely finish.
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That has modified within the final six months or so with Tremendous Method driver Kakunoshin Ohta rising as somebody who may, at some point, hold the Japanese flame at Indy burning.
Those that comply with Tremendous Method intently will want no introduction to Ohta, who has scored 5 victories within the single-seater sequence for the Honda-powered Dandelion Racing workforce within the final 18 months or so and is correct within the thick of this yr’s title battle.
Off the again of these performances, in addition to some sturdy kind in Tremendous GT, Ohta was chosen by Honda to take part in three races within the IMSA SportsCar Championship on the wheel of a Meyer Shank Racing Acura LMDh, starting with the Daytona 24 Hours.
Kakunoshin Ohta, DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING
Photograph by: Masahide Kamio
But it surely isn’t simply his on-track skills that satisfied Honda to assist Ohta to develop into the primary Japanese driver to race on the top-level in the US since Sato 15 years in the past.
As HRC president Koji Watanabe defined in an unique interview with Autosport, Ohta’s sturdy need to unfold his wings past Japan – removed from common amongst Tremendous Method drivers – and his English means, additional honed driving Mercedes GT3 equipment for Hong Kong outfit Craft-Bamboo Racing in latest occasions, have been additionally key components.
“Particularly these drivers who’re younger and categorical a powerful need to race overseas, we need to assist them in doing so,” Watanabe instructed Motorsport.com.
“I used to be there at Daytona so I may see his driving and his communication with the workforce with my very own eyes, and he was speaking with the workforce in the way in which I had hoped” Koji Watanabe
“Ohta particularly has proven his abilities and that he has an amazing quantity of margin to develop, which suggests now we have excessive expectations of him. He’s additionally fluent in English and superb at speaking with the workforce, each on the technical facet and personal dialog.
“He has at all times indicated a powerful need to race abroad, a powerful will, that we wished to assist. These have been the large factors by way of choosing Ohta.”
Thus far, Ohta’s IMSA marketing campaign has been forgettable by way of outcomes. Not lengthy after his first race stint within the #93 Acura ARX-06 at Daytona, the automobile dropped many laps off the tempo as a result of a suspension drawback, and whereas he was set for additional mileage at Sebring in an LMP2 automobile, an early accident for one in every of his Period Motorsport team-mates meant he didn’t even get to drive.
The Japanese driver is getting further racing expertise with LMP2 outings for Period Motorsport in IMSA
Photograph by: Courtesy of IMSA
However Ohta may have two extra probabilities to shine within the Acura, one at Watkins Glen this weekend and the opposite at Indianapolis later within the yr, in addition to an additional outing for Period Motorsport in LMP2 at Street America as he builds up his expertise within the US – all whereas jetting forwards and backwards to Japan to combat for the Tremendous Method title.
“I believe to date Ohta has performed an ideal job in fairly a difficult setting,” added Watanabe. “I used to be there at Daytona so I may see his driving and his communication with the workforce with my very own eyes, and he was speaking with the workforce in the way in which I had hoped. Sadly as a result of a difficulty with the automobile he wasn’t in a position to get a outcome, however I’m wanting ahead to seeing how he does within the subsequent race at Watkins Glen. I’ve excessive hopes for him.”
Ohta has made it clear in earlier conversations with Motorsport.com that he’s hoping to make use of his new-found connections with Meyer Shank Racing to land a take a look at in IndyCar equipment. Certainly, the 25-year-old who goes by ‘Kaku’ within the IMSA paddock visited the Indy 500 final month straight after a take a look at at Watkins Glen, soaking within the motion along with Watanabe.
However Watanabe is eager to emphasize that Ohta should first show his price in IMSA earlier than any severe discussions a few future in IndyCar can happen.
“I do know he has varied targets and ambitions, as high athletes ought to have,” mentioned Watanabe. “What I’ve mentioned to him is that I need to see him deal with what’s in entrance of him, get good leads to IMSA, carry out effectively, then we are able to take into consideration the following step.
“So on this yr’s IMSA races, though there aren’t many alternatives left, I’m hoping he can get good outcomes, similar to a podium end. That is our expectation. As for future potentialities for him, we need to see what aspirations he has for himself, after which we’d even have to contemplate what HRC’s circumstances are like.”
Sato can nonetheless name on assist from Honda, however his private backers allow him to proceed to compete in IndyCar
Photograph by: Penske Leisure
Requested whether or not a full-time IMSA trip could be the logical subsequent step for Ohta, Watanabe replied: “That’s one chance. On the acceptable timing we’ll resolve based mostly on his outcomes.”
Monetary concerns will in fact play a job in any ambitions Ohta could must race in IndyCar. Together with his profile and connections, Sato has been in a position to collect the sponsorship cash wanted to race at Indy via largely his personal efforts lately, and it’s removed from clear whether or not some other HRC driver would have the ability to increase the required sums.
“Takuma’s Indy 500 programme shouldn’t be a lot a works Honda programme, however relatively it’s a results of his love for Indy and his sturdy need to compete, which has allowed him to collect assist from varied sources, together with from Honda,” clarified Watanabe, including he “personally believes” Sato will nonetheless be on the grid subsequent season.
“If we discover somebody that ticks these bins, we’ll decide on whether or not to assist them” Koji Watanabe
“Sooner or later, we are going to contemplate if there’s a driver with the identical dedication to race at Indy as Takuma, in addition to somebody with the required degree of expertise. If we discover somebody that ticks these bins, we’ll decide on whether or not to assist them.”
As Watanabe stresses, there aren’t any ensures at this stage, however Ohta being given the possibility to race in IMSA this yr already marks the largest alternative handed to a Japanese Honda driver exterior of the standard ladder to F1 for a few years.
And if Ohta was ever to make the transfer to IndyCar from Tremendous Method, he could be following the identical path taken by a sure Alex Palou 5 years in the past – a transfer that almost all would in all probability agree didn’t work out too badly…
Palou and Ohta have been team-mates on the Daytona 24 Hours, however can the Japanese driver comply with the trail the Spaniard took to achieve IndyCar?
Photograph by: James Gilbert – Motorsport Pictures
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