SONOMA, Calif. – The question, from Italy, was directed to Takuma Sato and referenced his most challenging moment in auto racing.

Moving to England – his first time out of his native Japan – was difficult because of the level of competition.

“Then there was the weather and English food,” said Sato, which drew a hearty laugh from the growing crowd in the INDYCAR Fan Village.

The Ortsbo Live & Global session featured the Rahal Letterman Racing driver in addition to Graham Rahal of Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing, Josef Newgarden of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and moderator James Hinchcliffe of Andretti Autosport.

During the hour-long session, fans around the world could watch the Q&A and submit questions in any of Ortsbo’s 53 languages. Participants could then follow along with the answers in their native language, and the streaming video was translated into the subtitled display in the language of the viewer’s choice.

"These Ortsbo Live & Global events have been very entertaining this year, not only for the live audience but also for our INDYCAR fans around the world," Hinchcliffe said. "When a question comes in from a fan in a country such as Croatia or Chile or Greece, we all realize the reach of INDYCAR."

Other questions were received from Portugal, Norway, Canada and Japan among other countries.

Quite a ride

Ben Flajnik, star of season 16 of ABC’s reality series “The Bachelor,” was a guest of Arie Luyendyk Jr.

Flajnik, a native of Sonoma, rode in the INDYCAR two-seater driven by Luyendyk, who was a finalist in the last season of “The Bachelorette.”

Quite a ride II

JR Hildebrand got a different perspective on the raceway’s modified layout, taking a  ride-along with Johnny O’Connell in Cadillac CTS-V Coupe.

“It’s a real treat to hop in with the man, the myth, the legend to really see what it’s all about,” Hildebrand said. “I was really impressed. It’s got a butt-load of grip and it is really impressive. The way the car handles and how stable it is for being as big as it is is really impressive.”

Of note

Buffalo Wild Wings has signed on as an associate sponsor of the No. 26 RC Cola entry driven by Marco Andretti for the remaining races. Andretti won the 2006 race at Sonoma. … Angie's List is the primary spnsor of the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing car at Sonoma. ... Sebastian Saavedra's car is being serviced this weekend by his Firestone Indy Lights crew. ... Alex Tagliani's streak of consecutive Firestone Fast 6 appearances ended at four.