Dale Coyne Racing PR

GMR Grand Prix Qualifying Reports

Posted on by Patrick Stephan

Takuma Sato Registers Best Road Course Qualifying of the Season

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May13, 2022) – The Dale Coyne Racing team is taking part in the GMR Grand Prix this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Drivers Takuma Sato (#51 Nurtec ODT – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR) and David Malukas (#18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports) took to the track on Friday for practice and qualifying ahead of Saturday’s race. See below for more details on each driver. 

#51: Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May13, 2022) – Takuma Sato and his #51 Nurtec ODT Dale Coyne Racing came close to making it to the Fast 12 for the first time this season but fell just short and had to settle with a 13th place on the Saturday grid for Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix.

Starting: 13th
Group 1 / Round 1: 7th
Best Lap: 1:09.8239

  • The two-time Indy 500 Champion went out in Group 1/Round 1 of qualifying and registered his fastest time on his 6th lap around the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course.
  • His time was one thousandth of a second short from allowing him to move on to the next round.
  • His 13th place on the grid is his best starting position on a road/street course this season. 
  • He has an overall best starting position of third at Texas Motor Speedway this year.
  • Sato is making his 12th start on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course this weekend. 
  • In his 11 road course starts at IMS, he has a best finish of 11th (twice), and a best starting position of 11th (twice).
  • He also five top 10 finishes on the IMS road course.

Takuma Sato #51 Nurtec ODT Honda – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR
“I’m quite excited to be back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We had high hopes going into qualifying. While it ended up being our best road course qualifying this season, we ended up missing on the second segment by just a thousandth of a second, so it’s a bit bitter. That said, we made good progress and hopefully in tomorrow’s warmup we can find some more speed and that we can have a strong race. But today was a little bit of mixed emotions.”

Malukas Makes Progress During Day 1 of GMR Grand Prix
#18: David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May13, 2022) – Rookie David Malukas (#18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports) continued to make progress throughout the practice sessions and qualifying on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Friday. However, in a very competitive field, he ended up 24th on the starting grid for Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix.

Starting: 24th
Group 2 / Round 1: 12th
Best Lap: 1:10.4755

  • The rookie was sitting in the middle of the pack after his first qualifying lap.
  • He entered pit lane after his third lap and switched to the alternate Firestone tire and immediately registered his best time.
  • His fastest lap of 1:10.4755 initially placed him second of the group, but he ended up 12th when all was said and done.
  • Malukas is making his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES start on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course this weekend. 
  • In four NTT INDYCAR SERIES starts this season, Malukas has a best finish of 11th at Texas, and a best starting position of 18th (Long Beach and Barber Motorsports Park).
  • The 2021 Indy Lights Vice Champion has a win and second place finish on the IMS road course in Indy Lights.

David Malukas, #18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda
“It was a busy day at IMS today with two practice sessions and qualifying. We knew we had some work to do after practice 1. Then practice 2 started off great and we ended up in a good place going into qualifying. Unfortunately, it seemed like the pace was there. I thought the car felt very good and when I came in, I guess we didn’t have enough because we were P12 in our group. I was surprised because I thought we had the speed, but I guess at the end of the day when the car feels good it just proves that you’re not pushing enough! Overall, it was a good day, but it could have been a lot better. I really like this place and in Indy Lights I was always really quick here. I think it shows how strong the IndyCar field is here. Going into tomorrow we’re going to work on our setup and hopefully try and move up the field.”