Sato must go !!!!!

[SoCalPVguy]

So far this year: 7 DNF's - including 4 crash outs !!!

Rahal Racing must get a decent driver in there, no matter what Honda wants, or they're never gonna get any points, and they'll run out of cars eventually !

[00steven]

If he would just finish he would have many good results.

[Nem14]

Takuma "Crash" Sato?

[GravettFan99]

I've always liked Takuma Sato, I don't really want him to go. He's driving a bit too aggressively, I guess. :dozey:

[nigelred5]

He was in contentionall race and going for the lead in the first turn of the last lap of the 500. Hildebrand is a hero, Taku a zero. OK.

[Marbles]

Sato, like Tracy, is a driver that is probably admired for his feats of derring-do as much, if not more by other drivers, than fans. Problem is that this F1\Indycar vet hasn't notched any wins like a Tracy has(d) and you can't write off his indiscretions to youthful exuberance. If you're going to be a circus diver you got to hit the bucket once in a while. Rahal isn't an idiot and he obviously appreciates the raw speed that Sato has but he also has budget constraints and the only thing that will see Sato around next year, if he can make it through this year, is a win or two.

[Dubyajay87]

Sato, like Tracy, is a driver that is probably admired for his feats of derring-do as much, if not more by other drivers, than fans. Problem is that this F1\Indycar vet hasn't notched any wins like a Tracy has(d) and you can't write off his indiscretions to youthful exuberance. If you're going to be a circus diver you got to hit the bucket once in a while. Rahal isn't an idiot and he obviously appreciates the raw speed that Sato has but he also has budget constraints and the only thing that will see Sato around next year, if he can make it through this year, is a win or two.
He totally reminds me of Tracy. Great comparison.

[Marbles]

Bobby also appreciated the $$$ that Sato brings.

The only thing money can buy is Love!

;) Wasn't sure about that... and I couldn't make assumptions.

[nigelred5]

He totally reminds me of Tracy. Great comparison.

Win or Crash tryin'. He's certainly got the crashin part down.

[heliocastroneves#3]

Sato is just that "crash friendly", that if he will once win a race he will crash his car while doing donuts after the race... :p

[seppefan]

Massive speed all through his career but not enough control sadly. Such an exciting potential fading away at present.

[Chris R]

I wouldn't say he "has to go" - he gives us something to talk about..... :)

Seriously, he is fast, always has been. I think if he manages to win one it might be the start of something big. I have to wonder if that confidence boost of getting the job done is what is needed to get him winning consistently....

[Mark in Oshawa]

Sorry guys, I am going to disagree with the contention he is like PT. He isn't like PT. PT was fast but he won, and often enough to make people overlook the crashes. PT crashes were through aggressiveness but often were ones where you could see why he tried to do what he did. Most of Sato's crashes come off as brain farts. Even some of the ones where you think you can sympathize show a bad lack of strategy. For example, had he pulled off the pass of Dario going into one at Indy this year, only a village idiot would think he could hold Dario off going into 3. Dario would have slotted in behind, took him going into 3 and would have likely won. Sato had zero patience. He cannot think the process through. PT never dumped himself or anyone else in that manner on a last lap going for a win. He has done a lot of dumb things in his day...but not that dumb...and Sato does this routinely....

I like him for entertainment value, and I hope he proves me wrong, but IF I am a team owner, I want deep pockets or someone writing big checks because this guy is going to shred some race cars...

[Anubis]

I wouldn't say he "has to go" - he gives us something to talk about..... :)

Seriously, he is fast, always has been. I think if he manages to win one it might be the start of something big. I have to wonder if that confidence boost of getting the job done is what is needed to get him winning consistently....

To be fair, I don't think ALL the incidents this year have been his fault, but he's still DNFing far too often for a driver of his experience. I get the feeling that he knows he's fast (and he is), but gets easily frustrated when that speed fails to yield results, meaning he over-reacts to setbacks and overdrives as a result. I can understand the Indy lunge, as if you're going to risk it for a win, Indy is the place to do it, but I can recall other races (road and oval) where he's looked super quick only to do something stupid. I'd love to see him get a win, as it would be genuinely interesting to see whether it calmed him down.

[wedge]

PT never dumped himself or anyone else in that manner on a last lap going for a win.

qzOakHJlgks


Sorry guys, I am going to disagree with the contention he is like PT. He isn't like PT. PT was fast but he won, and often enough to make people overlook the crashes.

PT had the privilege of being in the top teams.

Look at Will Power. In Champcar he was quick but often crashing/being involved in incidents and now he makes the most of being in a top team.

Correct me if I'm wrong but is Bobby Rahal putting is arm round Taku's shoulder and having a word? Bobby has always struck me as the type of person you would listen and learn from.

[heliocastroneves#3]

rEn6zJpXry8

"Hi, i'm Takuma "The Wallbanger" Sato. I've been a psychopath race driver for over 10 years. Whether I'm on the racetrack or crashing down the road, one thing I know for sure, is I smash my vehicle and whats left of it."

[FIAT1]

Tracy to Sato comparison is ridiculous.

[Stuartf12007]

So far this year: 7 DNF's - including 4 crash outs !!!

Rahal Racing must get a decent driver in there, no matter what Honda wants, or they're never gonna get any points, and they'll run out of cars eventually !

Dont blame Sato, its the useless American drivers who keep getting in the way.

[Nem14]

IIRC Sato is backed mainly by Honda money, and Ray's Wheels, also a Japanese company?

[jarrambide]

Tracy to Sato comparison is ridiculous.

Yep, Tracy had way more dumber crashes, he was super fast, he had no brains, I do wedge is right, the difference is Tracy had a top team backing him up, give Sato one of the best cars and he will give you PT like results, he will win many races, he will destroy a lot of cars, one thing is sure, PT was very entertaining, Sato is very entertaining.

[jarrambide]

http://youtu.be/3gPSSJ5LTFA

Mark, how about this one?, He was very lucky he didn't finish his own race, he was black flagged later for his nose, but end up finishing 11, that was a very PT move.


How about this one?, Didn't this cost his team mate Dario a championship?

http://youtu.be/ABTfD1Nb63I

Ask Allmendinger about PT.

[FIAT1]

Yep, Tracy had way more dumber crashes, he was super fast, he had no brains, I do wedge is right, the difference is Tracy had a top team backing him up, give Sato one of the best cars and he will give you PT like results, he will win many races, he will destroy a lot of cars, one thing is sure, PT was very entertaining, Sato is very entertaining.

..like I said comparison is ridiculous. To drive for top team and have a top team backing ,you have to be one of the best. Crashes? Well, you can be there for Sunday drive or push the limit for the win.


Paul Tracy Career Statistics - Racing-Reference.info (http://racing-reference.info/driver/Paul_Tracy) to
Takuma Sato Career Statistics - Racing-Reference.info (http://racing-reference.info/driver/satota01)

[wedge]

..like I said comparison is ridiculous. To drive for top team and have a top team backing ,you have to be one of the best. Crashes? Well, you can be there for Sunday drive or push the limit for the win.


Paul Tracy Career Statistics - Racing-Reference.info (http://racing-reference.info/driver/Paul_Tracy) to
Takuma Sato Career Statistics - Racing-Reference.info (http://racing-reference.info/driver/satota01)

If you're not in one of the top teams then how do you define 'one of the best'?

As I mentioned earlier, take Will Power as an example. Would you not agree that Roger Penske took a gamble hiring the Aussie? If you watch the CCWS days did anyone think for definite he would become the best road course driver in OWR?

[FIAT1]

If you're not in one of the top teams then how do you define 'one of the best'?

As I mentioned earlier, take Will Power as an example. Would you not agree that Roger Penske took a gamble hiring the Aussie? If you watch the CCWS days did anyone think for definite he would become the best road course driver in OWR?

....borrowed from Kirby column:

"There's a lot of junk out there today. If you want it straight, read Kirby." -- Paul Newman


The Way It Is/ Paul Tracy's odyssey
by Gordon Kirby

They don't make them like Paul Tracy anymore. Tracy is a throwback to a less politically correct time. He's a rarity in IndyCar today, a driver who speaks his mind, wears his emotions on his sleeve and, at 43, still drives with the same aggressive verve that made people love him or hate him over twenty-one years racing Indy cars.

When Tracy made his Indy car debut in Dale Coyne's car at Long Beach in '91 he was as unlikey a racing driver as you might find. Pudgy, bespectacled and shy he may not have looked like an Indy car driver but he could hustle a car with the best of them. Paul had shown what he could do in karts, Formula Fords, Can-Am cars and Indy Lights and looked right at home in his first laps in Coyne's Indy car.

I watched the opening practice session at Long Beach that year with Bobby Unser. It's gone now, but in those days there was a chicane that passed beneath the Hyatt Hotel's parking garage so we were able to watch from above and look down into the cockpits as the drivers worked their way through the chicane. It provided a great view of braking, turning, gear-shifting, power-down, and Tracy looked as good, if not better than anyone.



© Paul Webb "Goddamn!" Unser grinned. "That boy can drive, can't he!"

We watched, fascinated, for most of the session before Bobby turned to walk away.

"I'm going to tell Roger he better hire that kid, and quick!"

Bobby took off headed for the pitlane in search of Penske who had already taken note of Tracy's lap times and was intrigued to hear his former driver's enthusiastic assessment.


How do you define one of the best? Because they do more with less.

[GravettFan99]

rEn6zJpXry8

"Hi, i'm Takuma "The Wallbanger" Sato. I've been a psychopath race driver for over 10 years. Whether I'm on the racetrack or crashing down the road, one thing I know for sure, is I smash my vehicle and whats left of it."

I like it not because it is about Takuma Sato, but because of how you twisted what Paul really said in the video. http://smileyicons.net/smilies/544.giflol

[wedge]

How do you define one of the best? Because they do more with less.

Sato he shown the speed in Rahal & PKV.

[Paul Crossling]

Had Sato not tried to get under Franchitti on the last lap at Indy, or waited another couple of corners we would not behaving this conversation.

Sato has always had the reputation as a crasher while racing in Europe. In British F3 he developed the name Kamakazie so his reputation is well known. For a man who had never been on an oval until a few years ago i think on the whole he has done well


On a side note Ernsto Viso should be getting the criticism for his crashes, although he has done better this year. I loved Darios comment last night that 'He has hit everything except the pacecar'

[Mark in Oshawa]

qzOakHJlgks



PT had the privilege of being in the top teams.

Look at Will Power. In Champcar he was quick but often crashing/being involved in incidents and now he makes the most of being in a top team.

Correct me if I'm wrong but is Bobby Rahal putting is arm round Taku's shoulder and having a word? Bobby has always struck me as the type of person you would listen and learn from.
Wedge, that was Tracy at his most aggressive, but that is a last lap dive. Sato's crash at Indy I forgive even if I know he would have lost if he did make it likely. But go through the results. Sato in F1, Sato here....he has a talent for wrecking when he has no business wrecking. I have seen him just outdrive himself into a wall. You could leave PT out there all day long and he wouldn't do that. Ya, he isn't shy about getting rough, but the man won races and did it often enough that you could see the method to the madness. Takuma Sato is just a fast guy who wrecks most weeks....his first podium was Brazil was it not? How many races in to his career? How many races does he finish?

PT is no saint, god knows that. But he has a track record of also just being so brilliant at times that he out classes the rest of the field. Or did. Sato.....well I suspect we wont see a win from him until maybe next year. I could be wrong, it wont be the first time, but I think Rahal is going to need a lot of help,and a shrink to stop this guy from beating himself.