IndyCar

Sebastien Bourdais

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  • #131164
    Don
    Participant

    Hat’s off to Seb for a great drive at St. Pete. He was in the top 10 until he had an electrical problem near the end of the race, placing 22nd. Also, he has the best looking livery on the grid IMHO.

    Rubens, had a tough go of it ending up 17th. Sato, 24th. Justin Wilson 10th.

    #198108
    Joel Holland
    Participant

    Bourdais still has an IndyCar title in him given the right car, no doubt about it.

    Interesting to hear the commentators describe him as having ‘four titles in indycars’ (lowercase and plural, so as to denote that it wasn’t this series). Not sure I’ve heard them do that before.

    #198109
    raymondu999
    Participant

    They were at ChampCar IIRC. But isn’t this series the one that USED to be ChampCar? I don’t know the genealogy of the American racing series though. I could be wrong.

    #198110
    f1alex
    Participant

    I don’t know, I think Indycar is the series that was originally IRL, which was set up as a competitor to CART (later Champcar). In 2008 they merged to form the Indycar we have now, but I’d say that as he had his titles in Champcar they wouldn’t count as Indycar titles.

    I might be completely wrong on this so if I am just tell me to shut up :) .

    #198111
    Joel Holland
    Participant

    Bourdais raced in Champ Car. The IRL – which is essentially the present IndyCar Series – was a breakaway from Champ Car (which was then called CART) that started in ’96. The two series ran in competition until 2008, when Champ Car fell apart and the IRL/IndyCar absorbed what was left of it.

    The significance of it, to me, was that they’ve previously been a bit sniffy about acknowledging Bourdais’ Champ Car achievements, as if they didn’t exist because they happened in the rival series. So it was cool to hear him called a four-time champion, which he is. They don’t count as IndyCar titles, but they’re indycar (as in American open-wheel) titles. It’s all very messy, just good that there’s one series now.

    #198112
    Adam Tate
    Participant

    It is messy, but I think it was the commentators way of trying to smooth out the rough past of American Open-Wheel racing. To call them Indycar titles is a good thing, the series needs to look at itself as the one and only top level open wheel series in the states. It was once divided, and by doing things like giving credit to Bourdais, where it is most certainly due, is one way to promote this new unity and move forward.

    And yes, Bourdais drove a cracking race, hopefully Lotus will work doubletime on engine development so he can keep pestering the front runners. Some one of Bourdais talent deserves a top car.

    #198113
    Don
    Participant

    SpeedTV’s website raves about Seb’s driving during the race. Too bad he couldn’t have finished the race and been rewarded for his hard work.

    #198114
    BasCB
    Participant

    I saw that raving report as well @don123, it was a nice read as it shows some details on how and where that speed was built up.

    Seems the Lotus engine lacks in top end power, but is pretty solid in the low-end range.

    #198115
    Don
    Participant

    This covers Seb’s brilliance at St.Pete. http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-bourdais-street-fighter-sector-times/

    Good luck in Birmingham.

    #198116
    Joel Holland
    Participant

    Awesome, thanks for sharing that Don. Good to see Bourdais get the respect he deserves.

    #198117
    joac21
    Participant

    Wish someone would make this kind of analysis for F1

    #198118
    Don
    Participant

    Lots of interesting stuff at http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/indy-car/

    Beyond comprehension how Seb didn’t end up with a big team, and amazing how well he did in the Dragon-Lotus car.

    #198119
    Joel Holland
    Participant

    I think he was under consideration for Newman-Haas before that closed shop – I’m sure there’s still a lot of love for him there and they were always likely to need to replace Hinch. Also he thought he had a full WEC programme with Peugeot to keep him busy, then that closed its doors. So I think circumstance played a part.

    But he’s not got a bad deal at Dragon: he’s not had to bring a penny to that programme, the money has all been raised by the team and Lotus, who wanted a few kickass drivers for their programme (Servia being the other). So he’s effectively the ‘lead’ Lotus driver, and if they get their act together he’ll be the man to lead the charge. Could be worse.

    #198120
    Joey-Poey
    Participant

    For those wondering why he’s not with a big team, if you look at his results from last year, his were less than impressive. There might still be some talent there, but he’s kinda got a show it all over again.

    #198121
    Don
    Participant

    Joey, I think his results last year were poor because he was with such a small team. How he performed at St.Pete was truly remarkable. It will be interesting to see how he progresses. It will be even more interesting to me to see if Lotus can make it through the season (because of financial issues).

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