Takuma Sato to auction off helmet to raise money for “With You Japan”

Following the Indianapolis 500, Takuma Sato will be auctioning off his helmet that has been specially designed for the race weekend to raise money for the “With You Japan” charity. Sato founded the charity to help people in the country following the tsunami in 2011.

“I think this helmet design is really cool, so I am looking forward to challenging in the Indy 500 with it,” the Japanese driver commented. “To develop the design concept, I had several discussions with the designer, who has also designed our TS official goods (including my driver’s cap). He came up with this wonderful design, which represents my wishes and challenging spirit. I will do my best to win a new star for my fans, A.J. and the team. This helmet will be auctioned off for charity and I hope many people will join in the auction.”

The helmet painted red, white and blue reflects Sato’s normal design, but also has elements of Japan incorporate in. There are also bricks painted on the helmet to represent Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is nicknamed ‘The Brickyard’. The last edition – four white stars – plays homage to car owner A.J. Foyt’s four Indianapolis 500 victories as a driver.

After five days of practice, Sato currently ranks 26th on the overall chart with a lap of 40.2157 seconds.

“I think it was a very productive day,” he commented. “We ran 150 laps and we tried many other things to make the car more stable. I was happy this afternoon with the way the car behaved in traffic-it was better. We made good progress.”