Kimiya Sato: Learning from 'stupid mistakes' led to Auto GP title
Kimiya Sato put his 2014 Auto GP championship win down to learning lessons from his title defeat last year
Sato wrapped up the title with a third place in race two at the Nurburgring on Sunday.
"I'm really happy," said the 24-year-old Japanese driver, who races for Vincenzo Sospiri's Euronova team in Auto GP alongside a GP2 programme with Campos.
"Last year I lost because of my stupid mistakes, so it's a special feeling to come back from that experience."
The Nurburgring event was a challenging one for Sato, who suffered brake failure in qualifying and started race one from last place before charging through the field to win despite pain from a bruised chest.
The reverse-grid second race was also tough, as Sato had to start eighth. He lost part of the bodywork on top of the car's nose section when it came loose and flew off, which did not affect his pace but left him unable to talk to his team.
"They couldn't hear me, but I could hear them. When I got to third place they made sure to remind me that it was enough for the title!" he said.
"We'd talked about it before the race though, and I knew it was enough. I would still have tried to pass Markus Pommer for second if I had the opportunity, but he was fast."
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