"It was just a perfect weekend to be honest," said Sato, whose previous best finish was second at Edmonton in 2012. "The team did a tremendous job. It is great news for the Japanese. Japan has had such a tough time after the earthquake. I'm really happy to give everybody some good news."
In his his 52nd IndyCar Series start, Sato overtook Ryan Hunter-Reay for second on Lap 23 and assumed the point on Lap 30 when race leader Will Power pitted under yellow. From that point forward, the race belonged to Sato's No. 14 ABC Supply car.
Sato crossed the finish line under caution. Graham Rahal finished second, followed by Justin Wilson in third.
Sato, who started fourth in the 80-lap, 157.4 mile race, provided A.J. Foyt Racing with its first win on a street course since 1978.
"Takuma made it look too easy," team director and race strategist Larry Foyt said. "It made me so nervous watching it out there. He just drove a flawless race."
Sato is the third winner in as many IndyCar Series races this season. He now is second in the championship standings, trailing Helio Castroneves by six points.
Here are the final results of the Grand Prix of Long Beach with order of finish, starting position (in parentheses), driver, chassis-engine, laps completed, and reason out (if any), all listed below:
1. (4) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
2. (11) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
3. (24) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
4. (1) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
5. (12) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
6. (18) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
7. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
8. (17) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
9. (19) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
10. (6) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
11. (26) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
12. (13) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
13. (16) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
14. (22) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
15. (15) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
16. (3) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
17. (27) Tristan Vautier, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
18. (23) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
19. (21) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 79, Running
20. (8) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 78, Contact
21. (9) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 78, Running
22. (10) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy, 53, Running
23. (14) AJ Allmendinger, Dallara-Chevy, 51, Mechanical
24. (2) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 49, Contact
25. (5) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 38, Electrical
26. (7) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy, 34, Contact
27. (20) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 1, Contact
Race Statistics
- Winners average speed: 85.763
- Time of Race: 01:50:08.7155
- Margin of victory: Under caution
- Cautions: 5 for 16 laps
- Lead changes: 4 among 4 drivers
- Lap Leaders: Franchitti 1 - 6, Hunter-Reay 7, Franchitti 8 - 28, Power 29 - 30, Sato 31 - 80
- Point Standings: Castroneves 99, Sato 93, Dixon 89, Andretti 87, Wilson 81, Hunter-Reay 73, Rahal 66, Power 62, de Silvestro 62, Hinchcliffe 61.
By Staff of The Daily Sports Herald and news services
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