Sato and Tagliani move on after Day 1 collision

NEWTON - Takuma Sato and Alex Tagliani capped Day 1 at the Iowa Speedway with a collision during the final practice session Friday night.

Sato, who had won the pole position in earlier qualifying, was on the outside when his left rear and Tagliani's front right made contact, causing an accident that brought out a yellow caution flag and eventually ended the session. Sato damaged the left side and left rear of his car, while Tagliani, who qualified 15th, received damage to the right front of his car. Neither driver needed assistance from safety teams.

"I'm very disappointed," Tagliani said. "I'm upset for the boys because it's going to be a lot of work. We had a very racey car in this session. We were making good improvements and running side-by-side early on so I felt comfortable racing with (Sato). I was on the outside for a couple of laps early on and then we did some pit stops. Then I was on the bottom. I felt like (he) crossed down into the bottom lane and my right front touched his left rear. And that's a situation where the two cars are not clear. You really have to give room when you are out there."

Sato said he provided the room for his fellow driver, but the two could not avoid each other. It wasn't a desired situation for either.

"I was approaching on the outside at a much greater closing speed because I think (Tagliani) was just coming out of the pits," Sato said. "I was running in the second lane and gave space, but unfortunately we were very close together and we touched. I didn't it want it this way during practice. Hopefully Alex's car is OK, and mine is OK is too.

Sato became the first Japanese driver to claim an IZOD IndyCar Series pole, but the wreck could have jeopardized it. If his car would have suffered enough damage requiring the use of a backup car for the race, Sato would have been sent to the rear of the pack for the start.