IndyCar
Ganassi signs Sato for IndyCar’s oval rounds in 2023
Defending Indy 500-winning team Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda has signed Takuma Sato to race its #11 entry in IndyCar’s five oval races this season.
David Malsher-Lopez
Edited: Jan 17, 2023, 2:55 PM
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Sato, who won the Indy 500 in 2017 for Andretti Autosport and in 2020 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, will share the #11 entry with ex-Formula 2 driver and IndyCar rookie Marcus Armstrong, who will be competing in all the road and street course rounds.
Sato’s contract with Dale Coyne Racing last year stated that were he to continue in IndyCar in 2023, it would have to be with DCR, but an agreement has been reached whereby Coyne has relinquished the Japanese veteran to Chip Ganassi Racing.
Ganassi has amassed 14 Indy car championships – the most recent coming in 2021 with Alex Palou – and five wins in the Indy 500, in which CGR is defending winner thanks to Marcus Ericsson.
With Sato joining the team, it means that despite losing Tony Kanaan to Arrow McLaren SP, Ganassi can still boast three former Indy winners in its line-up for the 500 this year.
"First of all, I would like to thank Chip and Mike [Hull, CGR managing director] for helping put this all together,” said Sato. “I am extremely excited to join Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2023 season. The organization has been at the top of our sport for decades and is, needless to say, extremely competitive.
"Focusing on the oval races is a new chapter for me but I'm thrilled to have the ability to race with team members and teammates that have won the championships and Indianapolis 500 in the past, which is a tremendous advantage. I just can't wait to get started.”
Hull commented: “What a terrific opportunity to have Takuma Sato drive our #11 Honda IndyCar on the ovals in 2023. He is a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner who contributes with the experience of knowing how to win, by matching the strength of his three teammates, which equals four who race as one. Chip Ganassi Racing looks forward to the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500.”
Sato has earned six wins, 14 podiums and 10 pole positions in 215 IndyCar races, he is the most recent driver to attain multiple wins in the Indy 500 and is the only Japanese driver to triumph in ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’. He is also one of only nine drivers to have won at Indy and scored at least a podium finish in Formula 1.
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