Two-Time Indy 500 Champion Takuma Sato Returns to RLL for the Indy 500
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, Takuma Sato, will return to the team for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500. AMADA AMERICA, Inc., a leading global machine tool manufacturer and supplier in the sheet metal industry, will return as the primary sponsor for 2017 and 2020 Indy 500 winner Sato’s No. 75 Honda-powered entry in the May 24 event as they were in 2024 and 2025.
The popular Japanese driver will attempt to qualify for his 17th Indianapolis 500 in 2026 and is aiming for his third victory in the legendary race after contending for the win last year.
In 2025, Sato earned his second front-row start for the team (third overall, after 2020) with a career-best starting position of second. He led the first 51 of 88 laps — the most in the race — before a pit error dropped him to a ninth-place finish. Despite the setback, he was the highest-qualifying Honda-powered driver among the 15 Honda entries, starting second.
Sato competed for RLL in 2012 and from 2018-2021 as well as the two previous Indy 500’s with primary sponsorship from AMADA. He has earned six NTT INDYCAR SERIES wins, four of which have come with RLL, including the team’s second Indy 500 win in 2020. Sato competed in oval races with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2023 and returned to RLL in 2024 for the Indy 500. He set the second fastest qualifying speed of Honda-powered drivers in 2024, his 15th time to participate in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing and sixth with RLL.
The team’s relationship with AMADA goes back to 2023 when the manufacturer was the primary sponsor of the team’s No. 30 entry at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park on April 30, 2023. In addition to being the primary sponsor of Sato’s entry in the 2024 Indianapolis 500, they were also a major associate sponsor of the team’s No. 30 entry at the 2024 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, near their Buena Park, Calif. Headquarters and primary sponsor at Portland.
Sato, a native of Tokyo, Japan, has made 222 starts in the INDYCAR SERIES since his rookie season in 2010, which is seventh among active drivers and 22nd all-time. His Indy car highlights include wins in the 2017 and 2020 Indianapolis 500, 2013 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, 2018 Portland Grand Prix, 2019 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and Bommarito 500 at WWT Raceway, with four of the six coming with RLL. Of his 14 podium finishes to date, 10 have come with RLL as have three of his 10 Indy car poles. Prior to joining the INDYCAR SERIES, he competed in 90 Formula One races between 2002-2008 with his highest finish of third at the 2004 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.