Toronto, ON (Saturday, July 16, 2022) – Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports David Malukas (#18 HMD) qualified a season best of fifth on Saturday for the Honda Indy Toronto while his teammate Takuma Sato (#51 Nurtec ODT – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR) came back from a practice crash to qualify 19th.
 David Malukas Qualifies Season Best of Fifth at Honda Indy Toronto |
Toronto, ON (Saturday, July 16, 2022) – Rookie David Malukas (#18 HMD Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports) continued his impressive run on Saturday by registering his best starting position of the season with another trip to the Firestone Fast 6 and a fifth place on the grid for Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto.
Starting: 5th
Best lap: 59.6140
Round 2 – 3rd
Best lap: 59.4638
Round 1 / Group 1 – 5th
Best lap: 59.8686
- Malukas registered a fastest lap of 59.87 seconds in Group 1 of qualifying. The time placed him fifth in his group and onto the second round of qualifying for the third time this year.
- He then registered the third fastest lap in the Top 12 and guaranteed himself a second trip to the Firestone Fast 6 this season.
- His first lap in the final round of qualifying initially placed him second in the group but his fastest lap of the session placed him fifth on the starting grid.
- Today’s result is Malukas’ best start of the season. His previous best was a sixth place in Detroit.
- Malukas’ last trip to the Honda Indy Toronto was in 2019 when he took part in a pair of Indy Lights races in which he picked up two top 10 finishes.
- Malukas has a best finish of ninth this season registered at the last round at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
David Malukas, #18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda
“We made it into the Fast 6 today. What an incredible job from the team. From the start in Segment 1 all the way to the start of Segment 3 in the Firestone Fast 6, the team made the right decisions with the car, the tires and everything. I think we used the wrong set of tires for the last run that might have cost us a position a two, but overall to make it into the Fast 6 I’m more than happy. I see my name against these veterans so it’s very cool for me. What a great job from the team.”
 Takuma Sato Bounces Back from Practice Incident to Qualify 19th at Honda Indy Toronto |
Toronto, ON (Saturday, July 16, 2022) – Takuma Sato (#51 Deloitte) and his Dale Coyne Racing with RWR team bounced back from a practice incident on Saturday to qualify 19th in tomorrow’s Honda Indy Toronto.
Starting: 19th
Round 1 / Group 1: 10th
Best Lap: 1:00.5324
- Sato made contact with the wall in the morning practice session causing important damage to the left side of his #51 Deloitte car.
- With the start of practice having been delayed, it meant that the crew had even less time to make repairs ahead of qualifying.
- The team did an amazing job to get the car ready as they rolled onto pit lane with 5 minutes remaining before the start of qualifying.
- Sato took to the track in Group 1 of qualifying and registered a fastest time of 1:00.5324 on his seventh and final lap.
- His time placed him 10th in the group and 19th overall.
- Takuma Sato is making his 13th start on the streets of Toronto this weekend where he has four top ten finishes including two fifth place results (Race 2 in 2014 and 2016).
- He also has a best start of seventh (2018) around the 11-turn, 1.786-mile street circuit.
- In nine races this season, Sato has a best finish of seventh at the GMR Grand Prix and a best start of second in Detroit.
Takuma Sato #51 Nurtec ODT Honda – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR
“Our qualifying was not the day we wanted, to be honest. I had a little accident at the end of the practice session this morning and with the practice having been delayed due to wall repairs from a support series incident, there wasn’t a lot of time between practice and qualifying. The 51 boys did a great job to fix up the car but we didn’t have enough time to do a complete set up on the pad so we didn’t know if the car was square, but obviously they did a great job. We only missed the next round by a few tenths, which is essential here. It’s a pity we didn’t do well today but congratulations to David (Malukas), he had a fantastic day. At least our sister car is doing really well so we should be able to find some speed for tomorrow’s warmup and have a very strong race. I’m very happy to have the Deloitte car this weekend. It’s a shame for the qualifying but we will have a strong day tomorrow.”
Next Up:
Honda Indy Toronto
Race 10 of 17
Sunday, July 17, 2022
