rpm.espn.com: Shigeaki Hattori

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Friday, December 7

Shigeaki Hattori
By Jack Arute
ESPN.com

Team: Vertex-Cunningham Racing
Nationality: Japan

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Poles
Top 5
Top 10
Money
Best finish

2001 13 0 0 0 5 $459,100 7th, twice

Career 0 0 0 9 $638,600 7th, three times

Hattori
Hattori

2001 Recap
The Good: The transplanted Japanese driver logged his first full season behind the wheel of an IRL car. Teamed with engineer Thomas Knapp, Hattori adapted quickly to the IRL formula. Posting nine top-10 finishes in 12 races.

Season Highlight: "Shiggy" took to the mile and a half tracks. In Atlanta he qualified a career best fifth and survived a fiery front straightaway crash to finish eighth.

The Bad: He and his team seldom showed the slight edge that separates top producers from field fillers. Once qualified, Hattori was adept at finishing races but never led a lap.

Season Lowlight: Hattori qualified on Indy 500 Pole Day with the 21st quickest time of the day. After practicing at 221.713 mph the day before bump day, Hattori was bumped from the field on the final day of qualifying. He failed to re-qualify his way into the field by .061 mph.

Key Stat: Hattori logged 1,979 laps and finished 13th in the 2001 IRL point standings.

2002 Outlook
What needs to be done: Hattori developed excellent survival instincts. Now he needs to find confidence to mix it up during the course of an event. He spent last season quietly logging laps and experience. In 2002 he needs to show that he is not intimidated by running tightly with cars in his close proximity.

Prediction: The learning curve flattens out and Hattori becomes a player on some of the 1.5 mile tracks that make up the backbone of the IRL schedule. He will qualify for the Indy 500 and post a top-10 finish due to his survival skills.

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