A.J. Foyt Enterprises driver Takuma Sato has been left impressed following his first taste of Road America following a series test at the Elkhart Lake based circuit.

“I had heard about how this is everyone’s favourite track and after seeing some past footage of it, I was very impressed and excited to get on it.” said Sato.

The series made its return to the historic track for the first time since 2007 and Sato was joined by fellow drivers from Ganassi, Penske, Rahal Letterman Lanigan and CHF Racing.

Following the test Sato enthused “Love it! The track is such a classic style – narrow and fast – and it’s an incredible feeling. So much fun! I feel it is a great fit for a powerful IndyCar, and the cornering speed was very impressive plus it is surrounded by beautiful greens and woods. Great track!”

Sato went on to compare the circuit with others that he has experienced throughout his single-seater career, “It is nothing like other tracks in the USA I’ve run, but in Europe I think perhaps it’s like a mixture of Imola in San Marino and old Hockenheim in Germany or the Brands Hatch GP course in the UK but with less elevation change. The characteristics these tracks share with Road America are that they are exceptionally narrow and fast and have a long straight with dense forest. Drivers and fans love these kinds of tracks.”

Sato picked out the Carousel and the Kink as hs favourite parts of the track saying that they were “unbelievably fast and thrilling”, he added that you had to have good commitment for Turn 1 too.

He also picked out a few places he expected passing opportunities, “I think there are a few. T1, T5 and T12 are the most popular I imagine”. He also outlined Turn 5 as a potential corner to go side-by-side, “It’s narrow but you can. You need a good trust and commitment but T5 has a good space for it.”

There was also good news regarding team boss A.J. Foyt who has undergone surgery to implant an artificial knee in his right leg, replacing the antibiotic-infused cement spacer he received August 10th

“My doctors said everything went perfectly, so I was relieved to hear that,” said Foyt. “My right leg was clear of the infection so the doctors were able to give me a new knee. They were really pleased with how everything went.” Foyt is expected to remain in the Houston hospital for several days.