Front-Row Start for Sato, Honda in Detroit
The Raceway at Belle Isle Park
・Takuma Sato qualifies second in his Dale Coyne Racing Honda for Sunday's Detroit Grand Prix
・Dale Coyne Racing, Meyer Shank Racing Hondas all advance to final-round qualifying
・Honda drivers claim seven of top-10 starting positions
Dale Coyne Racing showed its strength on the streets of Belle Isle Raceway, as two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato claimed a front row start and teammate David Malukas led the rookie contingent in qualifying today for Sunday's NTT INDYCAR SERIES Grand Prix of Detroit.
Sato's best qualifying performance of 2022 saw him just edged [by 0.1337 seconds] for the pole by Josef Newgarden; while Malukas advanced to Firestone "Fast Six" final qualifying for the first time this year and will start sixth.
The two-car Meyer Shank Racing effort also recorded strong results for Honda, with 2013 Detroit winner Simon Pagenaud qualifying third; and teammate Helio Castroneves, fourth. In all, Honda drivers claimed seven of the top 10 starting positions for Sunday's 70-lap race, and nine of the top 12.
Detroit Grand Prix Honda Qualifying Results
| Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda |
| Meyer Shank Racing Honda |
| Meyer Shank Racing Honda |
| Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda |
| Andretti Autosport Honda |
| Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| Andretti Autosport Honda |
| Andretti Autosport Honda |
| Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| Andretti Autosport Honda |
| Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
R - Rookie
Fast Facts
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Honda and Honda Performance Development, the North America racing arm of Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports, come to the Detroit Grand Prix seeking to continue a run of major race wins in 2022, including last weekend's 15th – and third consecutive – Indianapolis 500 triumph for Marcus Ericsson in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
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In 2021, HPD became the first engine build firm to win both the Rolex 24 at Daytona overall (with Wayne Taylor Racing) and Indianapolis 500 (Helio Castroneves' historic fourth Indy win) in same calendar year.
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The company repeated that feat in 2022, with Meyer Shank Racing leading a 1-2 finish for Acura at Daytona in addition to Ericsson's thrilling victory at Indianapolis last Sunday.
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Honda returns to Detroit having won six of the last eight NTT INDYCAR SERIES events run at Belle Isle Park.
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Honda's most recent victory came last year, when Ericsson recorded his first INDYCAR victory in Saturday's opening race.
Absolutely, this is a great day for the team. To get both cars in the [Fast Six] final qualifying is fantastic, and David [Malukas] did a phenomenal job in the first sector, he really pushed me hard! I also had quite a good lap [in final qualifying] and that was very satisfying. We've known all year we had the speed, and today we were able to put it all together. It was absolutely a team effort.
Absolutely, this is a great day for the team. To get both cars in the [Fast Six] final qualifying is fantastic, and David [Malukas] did a phenomenal job in the first sector, he really pushed me hard! I also had quite a good lap [in final qualifying] and that was very satisfying. We've known all year we had the speed, and today we were able to put it all together. It was absolutely a team effort.
It's a fantastic day for the team, starting on the second row with [teammate] Helio [Castroneves], who did such a great job as well. We've had great cars here all weekend. I really thought we had the pole lap, but I hit traffic right at the end of my first fast lap and had to bail out of it, and that messed up our second lap [on the softer Firestone "Red" tires] as well. So I'm actually a little disappointed with third, to be honest. But that's racing. We'll get them next time!
It's a fantastic day for the team, starting on the second row with [teammate] Helio [Castroneves], who did such a great job as well. We've had great cars here all weekend. I really thought we had the pole lap, but I hit traffic right at the end of my first fast lap and had to bail out of it, and that messed up our second lap [on the softer Firestone "Red" tires] as well. So I'm actually a little disappointed with third, to be honest. But that's racing. We'll get them next time!
