Sato and Malukas Carrying Momentum into Long Beach
Plainfield, IL (Wednesday, April 6, 2022) – Takuma Sato (#51 Nurtec ODT – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR) and David Malukas (#18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports) are carrying great momentum into the third round of the season this weekend. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be the second street circuit this year for the pair of Dale Coyne Racing drivers. Notes for each driver are below.
Takuma Sato Optimistic Heading into Long Beach
Plainfield, IL (Wednesday, April 6, 2022) – With the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returning to a street circuit this weekend, Sato is looking to pick up where he left off at the season opening round on the streets of St. Petersburg when he takes on the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach this weekend aboard his #51 Nurtec ODT entry. Sato was the biggest mover in the first race of the season on his way to his best finish so far in 2022. |
- Sato’s best finish at the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit was also his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES win in 2013.
- He will be making his 12th start on the streets of Long Beach this weekend.
- He has a best starting position of fourth in Long Beach, also in 2013.
- In addition to his win, he has four other top 10 finishes at the famed street circuit, including his last two visits in 2019 (8th) and 2021 (9th), the series didn’t compete in Long Beach in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- In two races in 2022, Sato has a best finish of 10th on the streets of St. Petersburg and a best start of third at Texas Motor Speedway.
Takuma Sato #51 Nurtec ODT Honda – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR
“Long Beach is one of the iconic events in motorsport. It has a great history in racing, such an atmosphere with fans from all over the world with a large Japanese community on the west coast and fantastic restaurants, bars and so on. In addition, it’s a special place for me too as I achieved my first IndyCar win back in 2013 with the unforgettable A.J.Foyt’s #14 car, so I always very much look forward to going back to Long Beach. In general, street courses are always fun to drive, and they provide an exciting race and Long Beach has never failed those expectations. A heavy braking into turn 1 after a long straight provides us with a great opportunity for overtaking, the combination of both high speeds and complex sections are always challenging.
“We had a solid result at our first race in St.Petersburg, Florida, on a street course, where we were the biggest mover of the day, and we had a very competitive weekend at the last race in Texas too. Although technically the car is very different, we carry great momentum as a team and there is no reason why we cannot be competitive at Long Beach as well.”
David Malukas Looking for Redemption in Long Beach
Plainfield, IL (Wednesday, April 6, 2022) – Rookie David Malukas is coming off his best performance of his young NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with an 11th place finish in his superspeedway debut a few weeks ago in Texas. The driver of the #18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda is looking to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach to improve on his street circuit performance after a disappointing round in St. Petersburg, Florida.
- This weekend will mark Malukas’ first-time racing on the streets of Long Beach.
- The rookie was able to prepare for his first visit to the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit thanks to some simulator testing a few weeks ago.
- In one street circuit event this year (St. Petersburg), Malukas started 24th and finished 26th after contact ended his race early.
- In addition to his best finish of 11th at Texas, the rookie has a best starting position of 19th, also registered at Texas.
David Malukas, #18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda “I can’t wait to get on track in Long Beach this weekend. I want some redemption on a street circuit after our race in St. Petersburg earlier this season that ended abruptly! I’m happy we were able to get a full race in at Texas. I wore a heart rate monitor for that event to get a read on the cardiovascular aspect of a race and to help me be able to simulate that at home when I work out so I can be better prepared for these races that are much longer than what I was used to in Indy Lights. ‘Also, as part of my preparation, I’ve been on the Honda simulator doing many, many laps around the Long Beach track to get me ready for the real thing. I think we have a really good car for Long Beach and I’m really excited about it. Long Beach also seems like a fun track, that tight hairpin turn at the end was very new to me on the sim, so that was fun to learn. I’ve also watched a lot of videos and talked to my teammate Takuma Sato and the team. I think we’re ready, but only time will tell once we get on track! I’m looking forward to it.” |
Race Info: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Race 3 of 17 Track length: 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit Race Distance: 85 laps Schedule (all times local) Friday, April 8, 2022 Practice 1: 3:15pm – 4:15pm (Peacock & INDYCAR Radio) Saturday, April 9, 2022 Practice 2: 8:45am – 9:45am (Peacock & INDYCAR Radio) Qualifying: 12:05pm – 1:20pm (Peacock & INDYCAR Radio) Sunday, April 10, 2022 Warmup: 9:00am – 9:30am (Peacock & INDYCAR Radio) Race broadcast: Noon – 3pm (NBC & INDYCAR Radio) Green Flag: 12:45pm |