More desperate bad luck hit Takuma Sato in the Verizon IndyCar Series at Iowa Speedway when, just as happened in Houston, he was taken out thanks to an error from Russian rookie Mikhail Aleshin.

Just 47 of the 300 laps were in the books at the high-banked seven-eighths-of-a-mile oval when the accident happened, just as the race was being restarted owing to a delay for rain.

The weather played a big part in the whole weekend, but Sato and his #14 AJ Foyt Racing Dallara-Honda were looking good, with fourth fastest time in the second free practice session.

This was rescheduled from its post-qualifying slot to before qualifying, as lightning strikes had caused the first session to be dramatically shortened. “There were strong, gusty winds but the car was good,” said Taku. “The practice session was good and it was a strong performance, but I had just one thing I wasn’t necessarily happy about. We were fast but the car was fragile – the back end was not solid. One moment over the bumps in Turn 2and 4, and it would be quite easy to lose the back end.

“Effectively we only had 40 minutes of practice because rain interrupted the second session too. I also had a problem with the suspension in the first practice session – a little issue where we had to stop running and change a part, so I only did five timed laps in that session.”

Unfortunately, Sato’s form didn’t carry over to qualifying, where he took a disappointed 16th on the grid on a track where he has shone brightly in the past, and actually took his first IndyCar pole in 2011.

“The problem at the back end didn’t show up strongly until qualifying, and that was when it was highlighted to us,” he explained. “As usual for qualifying, we trimmed the car out to try to go as neutral as possible on handling, but I had a huge moment and lost a lot of time, and we had to change our philosophy on set-up for the race.

“Iowa has big banking with big bumps. It gives the highest loadings in the series – we pull over 5g and are getting over 6g in qualifying.”
With the post-qualifying session having been pushed up earlier in the schedule, that meant the Foyt team would have to go into the race with an estimated set-up.

Early in the race Taku dropped from 16th to 19th, but he ran in this position pretty much for the rest of the opening stint – which ended when the rain came. “At the start I was side by side with Graham Rahal,” he said. “He kept coming up the track, immediately after the start in Turn 2, even where I was probably three-quarters side by side with him. I wanted to drop down into another lane but he kept coming, and I wasn’t really happy. Then in Turns 3 and 4 we were side by side again and exactly the same thing happened. I had to lift big time and that’s why I lost some positions.

“I had some fun battling with Juan Pablo Montoya, but I had quite big understeer and the tyre degradation hit me badly. But I thought, ‘OK, we have 300 laps today, there’s no need to push really hard now, just wait for the first pit-stop.’ I just had to maintain the lead lap, which was getting threatened but which I managed to do.”

After the rain had passed the field resumed under the pace car, with everyone diving in for the first round of pit-stops before the race went green again. “I think everybody came to the pits for tyres,” said Sato. “We adjusted the front flap, which we thought should give me a better balance. But I never got to find out. It was just unbelievable…

“At the green flag, I was able to race side by side with Charlie Kimball. Then just as I overtook him there was suddenly white tyre smoke from Aleshin spinning. I was already running high, close to the wall, and I had no option but to drive into the white cloud – I couldn’t do anything. I tried to hit the brakes but there was nothing I could do.”

So Taku’s summer of bad luck continues, but the good thing is the races are coming thick and fast. So, as usual, it’s a quick regroup, refocus and get ready for next weekend’s double-header on the streets of Toronto. “I was quite looking forward to Iowa – I thought this was maybe a weekend our luck was turning. I guess now we have to wait another week! We have to start having some good races because this is just so bad…”

Wrong place, wrong time. That about sums up Takuma Sato’s experience in Saturday night’s Iowa Corn Indy 300 at Iowa Speedway.

“Watch out, watch out!” was all Takuma Sato’s spotter Larry Arnold had time to say when Mikhail Aleshin spun coming off turn 4 on a lap 48 restart. Sato, who was outside of Charlie Kimball, had nowhere to go as Aleshin spun into his path taking them both into the outside wall. Both drivers were lucky to escape injury, although their cars sustained heavy damage.

“At the restart, I was side by side with Kimball and then all I could see suddenly was white smoke,” said Sato. “I tried to avoid it but I was already going high, so I had nowhere to go, and next thing I knew I hit the car that spun in front of us.”

It was another disappointing end for the No. 14 ABC Supply team that has endured its fifth straight early exit, most of which were out of their control. Their last top-10 finish was ninth in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis two months ago.

Sato started 16th in the race and dropped back to 19th in the early laps as he struggled with the car’s understeer. A caution for rain brought out the yellow flag on lap 33 and then the red flag on lap 39. The rain stopped and the track was dried in under 30 minutes. The cars were fired up and allowed to pit under yellow. Sato took on fuel, new tires and two turns of front wing to correct his handling issues. Unfortunately, he never had the chance to see if the fix worked.

“The start of the race was tough, the car was a little out of balance and we made an adjustment on the pit stop with an easy fix – put in more front wing,” Sato said. “Since it was a long race, I was optimistic. We’ve had so much bad luck this year and we were hopeful of turning it around this weekend but now we will have to wait another week. Hopefully we can keep it positive for Toronto.”

The teams head to Toronto this week for a doubleheader race weekend. The races will be televised live by the NBC Sports Network at 3pm ET on Saturday and Sunday.

Takuma Sato will start 16th in the Iowa Corn Indy 300, a surprising turn of events after his fourth place run in the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda in the afternoon practice.

"It was a difficult qualifying session--couldn't get good grip so the car was sliding,” Sato said. “It was both pushing and loose at both ends (of the track). It was a tough one."

Sato’s two lap combined average speed of 183.089 mph was slower than his practice speed of 183.860 mph. Inclement weather shifted the schedule; the practice (originally scheduled for the morning) took place in the late afternoon and qualifying was postponed from 2 pm until 6 pm. The final practice session was cancelled.

The Iowa Corn Indy 300 will be televised live tomorrow night starting at 8pm ET on the NBC Sports Network.