Sato back with new team

The fans lined up one by one in the most orderly fashion, waiting for their chance to take a photograph or snag an autograph from the first Japanese winner of the Indianapolis 500.

Good thing they were patient, too.

Takuma Sato spent time chatting with every single one of them. The meet-andgreet came during a trium- phant tour of Japan late last year, which included stops at the Twin Ring Motegi racetrack, Mt. Fuji and the Tokyo headquarters of Honda. Along for the ride was the massive Borg-Warner Trophy, with the face of Sato now molded into it alongside the rest of the Indy 500 champions, as it left the United States for the very first time.

“The fans were overwhelming,” recalled Scott Gallett, a vice president at BorgWarner Inc., who was on the trip as the trophy’s caretaker.

The 41-year-old Sato may not carry the name recognition of Unser or Andretti, he was nonetheless a popular champion, so much so that nobody seemed to care a whole lot that he denied perpetual fan-favorite Helio Castroneves from joining the hallowed club of four-time winners. That was just in America, too. Sato was positively revered in Japan.

When he first returned home last June to celebrate his win, hundreds of fans and media were on hand to greet him at Narita Airport.

“Sometimes it’s tiring,” he said of the constant adoration, “but I really appreciate it.”

The love affair continued into this season, too. Sato threw out ceremonial first pitches for Cubs and Angels games. He got to spend some time with baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani, bringing two of Japan’s most popular sports stars together.

The Indy 500 victory was without question the biggest moment of Sato’s career. He’d only won one other IndyCar race, back in 2013.

There are no victory tours for winning elsewhere.

Now the trick is to back up that victory.

DARRON CUMMINGS / AP 2017 After winning last year’s Indianapolis 500, the love affair between Takuma Sato and fans in his homeland of Japan has continued through the year.