the diminutive Sato
インディカー・シリーズに参戦して4シーズン目の佐藤琢磨がキャリア52戦目にして悲願の初優勝を飾りました。日本人ドライバーにとって初めての勝利となりました。インタビューに応じたときの彼の英国風アクセントもなかなかのものでした。diminutiveは文法、修辞法でいう「指小辞」でブログでも何度も取り上げましたが、ここは佐藤選手を指して、「小柄な」「小ぶりの」という意味で用いられています。（UG）
Sato becomes 1st Japanese driver to win IndyCar race
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP)--Takuma Sato became the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race on Sunday in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
The win came in Sato's 52nd career start, and was the first for A.J. Foyt Racing since Airton Dare won at Kansas Speedway in 2002. Only Foyt was not on hand to make his first-ever trip to Long Beach's Victory Lane--a sciatic nerve that will require surgery forced him to watch the race on television at home.
The victory on the temporary street course through Long Beach--where Foyt never won as a driver or team owner--was a huge accomplishment for the organization. A.J. Foyt Racing's last win on a street or road course was with Foyt behind the wheel at Silverstone, England, in 1978.
"It was an easy win," said the diminutive Sato, who leaped into the arms of his crew members in Victory Lane. "It was just a perfect weekend to be honest. The team did a tremendous job. Pit stops, right calls, the power was great and I was comfortable in the car and able to push everything."
