Los Angeles (AFP)

Former Japanese Formula 1 driver Takuma Sato on Saturday won the Bommarito 500, in an Indycar Championship still dominated by American Josef Newgarden, ahead of Frenchman Simon Pagenaud.

Sato (Rahal Letterman), who was criticized by several drivers after a spectacular crash at the start of the race last Saturday at the Pocono, was four tenths of a second ahead of the American Ed Carpenter, the Brazilian Tony Kanaan and the American Santino Ferrucci .

Starting fifth, the Japanese benefited from several race interruptions at Gateway's World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.

Leader Josef Newgarden lost time spinning in the final round, downgrading two places to seventh.

At two races of the end of the season, the American remains at the top of the Indycar standings (563 points in 15 races) and sees his lead slightly increase on the competition led by the French Simon Pagenaud (525 pts), fifth of the race and now second in the standings ahead of American Alexander Rossi (517).

The next race will take place on September 1 in Portland, Oregon, before the September 22 epilogue in Laguna Seca, California.

© 2019 AFP