A.J. Foyt and his son Larry have made changes to the ABC Supply Racing team but those changes won’t affect the drivers behind the wheel of the team’s pair of Verizon IndyCar Series entries.
Team officials confirmed Dec. 16 that Japan’s Takuma Sato and England’s Jack Hawksworth will continue as drivers of the ABC Supply Racing Hondas in 2016.
“We’re happy to have both Takuma and Jack continuing with us next season because we know they have the talent to win races,” Team President Larry Foyt said. “Maintaining that continuity and building on what we started last season should show immediate benefits. This winter we are focusing on putting all the pieces in place to not only win, but to be a championship-caliber team. The consistency of keeping our nucleus together while strengthening our weak points should give us some very competitive ABC cars in the upcoming season.”
Foyt has made changes to the team founded by his father, Indy car legend A.J. Foyt. The younger Foyt said the changes are “an important step to bringing some consistency to the team’s performance” after a season of growing pains in 2015 when the team expanded to two full-season entries for the first time since 2002.
The changes include hiring George Klotz to serve as Team Director and promoting Sato’s race engineer Don Halliday to the post of Technical Director, where he will oversee the team’s race engineers.
Klotz, who worked as a mechanic for the Foyt team in 1990-1991, returned to the team in October to serve as its Team Director. His responsibilities will be to oversee the operation of both cars, and introduce systems which will streamline operations and improve efficiency.
“I think they are so close to breaking out, and I think that is the feeling throughout the paddock,” said Klotz. “All of the elements are there, we just need to get everything aligned and I think I can help Larry with that. He’s done a great job to get the team to this point and I’m excited by the possibilities and the guys seem excited too.
“Having worked at the team before, I know the feeling that surrounds it and 25 years later, I was glad to see it was still there. It’s part of the culture there. I’ve always had a place for A.J. in my heart and I think that’s what makes this team different because I think everyone who works for him does too.”
Sato will be in his fourth year driving for AJ Foyt Racing, and will becomes the longest tenured full-time driver in the history of the team aside from A.J. Foyt, the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. The association is the longest for Sato with any one team in both IndyCar and Formula 1 competition.
“It is an absolute honor to be continuously driving for AJ Foyt Racing,” Sato said. “I just appreciate that A.J. and Larry have given me such a fantastic opportunity to drive for this team. I have had great memories with the team and am very happy to add many more.”
Hawksworth, who enters his third year of Verizon IndyCar Series competition and second with Foyt’s team, is optimistic about the coming season.
"I'm looking forward to staying with the ABC Supply team for another season in 2016,” said the 24-year-old Yorkshireman who lives close to the Waller, Texas-based race shop during the season. “We obviously can't take any satisfaction in our performance last season and we know there is a large amount of work to be done if we are going to compete regularly with the top teams next season. It's clear though that the team is already making steps and I'm excited about what George Klotz can bring to the table in 2016. It's far too early to make any predictions but I'm optimistic that if we can have a strong winter program then we'll certainly put ourselves in a stronger position than this past season."