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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Bourdais Ready For Full-Time IndyCar Return
Sebastien Bourdais' acquisition by Dragon Racing shocked the open-wheel world last week, and the Frenchman tells SPEED.com he can't wait to get to work.
Sebastien Bourdais held out for what he wanted most--a full-time return to Indy car racing--and got his wish with the Lotus-powered Dragon Racing team. (LAT)
Roof, or no roof, that was the question.
Faced with two full-time opportunities, Sebastien Bourdais was left to choose between making a commitment to Peugeot Sport to return as a factory sports car driver or, as all indicators were pointing to, re-signing with Dale Coyne Racing to make a proper run at his fifth Indy car championship.
“I was pretty optimistic regarding my future after the 2011 adventure with Coyne,” Bourdais told SPEED.com from his home in Le Mans. “It looked like he wanted to continue and we agreed on financial terms and so on, but then he never committed. I asked him to give me a word—positive or negative—before Christmas, and I never got a word from him, so for me, it was pretty much over. I spoke with many people and they were all interested, but money was always the deal breaker.
Despite mounting pressure to sign his name to a sports car contract, Bourdais continued to hold out for an IndyCar ride through the end of December, and just when it looked like his open-wheel plans had been dashed, he awoke to find an intriguing offer waiting in his inbox.
“Then, basically, a few days before the New Year, I got an e-mail from one of Jay Penske’s people and [returning to IndyCar] went from no hope, to hope, then to reality over the holidays. It went pretty fast. I really have to thank Jay Penske, Lotus and everyone involved in putting the Dragon Racing team together for this year.”
Bourdais’ 2011 season was a blend of both obligations as he fit in a part-time schedule of road and street races for Coyne, and also played a significant role in helping Peugeot to earn the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Manufacturers’ and Teams’ titles after winning three of the seven ILMC events.
As the biggest name on France’s wealthy national sports car team, accepting Peugeot’s contract offer for 2012 was a no-brainer for Bourdais, but it would have limited his IndyCar options quite heavily. With a burning desire to contest the full IndyCar calendar, Bourdais asked his suitors to be patient as he weighed his options and potential race date conflicts.
Once he’d made up his mind, Bourdais had effectively reversed his 2011 situation, signing to contest the complete IndyCar Series calendar while taking in as many World Endurance Championship rounds for Peugeot as his schedule permits.
The only sticking point for Bourdais and Dragon could be the return of the Milwaukee round which is rumored to fall on the weekend of June 16-17, the same weekend as Peugeot’s one can’t-miss event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“That was part of the negotiations, which slowed the agreement a little bit,” Bourdais explained. “Jay needed some approval from the sponsors that it would be OK for me to miss one race if that scenario materializes. I’ve secured Le Mans because I already had a deal for that. [Returning to Indy cars] doesn’t change my involvement that much with Peugeot. Peugeot right now hasn’t confirmed everything yet, and it was difficult for me to commit to something [with Peugeot] without knowing exactly what they were going to do. It was a little tough on that.
“Initially, we discussed doing the full championship with [Peugeot]. But they couldn’t guarantee that in time, so when I looked at the schedule, at least as of today, there are only two conflicts at Silverstone and Brazil, so it leaves plenty of room for me to do some [WEC] races. Right now, we’re going to focus on the first three—Sebring, Spa and Le Mans—and we’ll see where that goes.”
Faced with two full-time opportunities, Sebastien Bourdais was left to choose between making a commitment to Peugeot Sport to return as a factory sports car driver or, as all indicators were pointing to, re-signing with Dale Coyne Racing to make a proper run at his fifth Indy car championship.
“I was pretty optimistic regarding my future after the 2011 adventure with Coyne,” Bourdais told SPEED.com from his home in Le Mans. “It looked like he wanted to continue and we agreed on financial terms and so on, but then he never committed. I asked him to give me a word—positive or negative—before Christmas, and I never got a word from him, so for me, it was pretty much over. I spoke with many people and they were all interested, but money was always the deal breaker.
Despite mounting pressure to sign his name to a sports car contract, Bourdais continued to hold out for an IndyCar ride through the end of December, and just when it looked like his open-wheel plans had been dashed, he awoke to find an intriguing offer waiting in his inbox.
“Then, basically, a few days before the New Year, I got an e-mail from one of Jay Penske’s people and [returning to IndyCar] went from no hope, to hope, then to reality over the holidays. It went pretty fast. I really have to thank Jay Penske, Lotus and everyone involved in putting the Dragon Racing team together for this year.”
Bourdais’ 2011 season was a blend of both obligations as he fit in a part-time schedule of road and street races for Coyne, and also played a significant role in helping Peugeot to earn the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Manufacturers’ and Teams’ titles after winning three of the seven ILMC events.
As the biggest name on France’s wealthy national sports car team, accepting Peugeot’s contract offer for 2012 was a no-brainer for Bourdais, but it would have limited his IndyCar options quite heavily. With a burning desire to contest the full IndyCar calendar, Bourdais asked his suitors to be patient as he weighed his options and potential race date conflicts.
Once he’d made up his mind, Bourdais had effectively reversed his 2011 situation, signing to contest the complete IndyCar Series calendar while taking in as many World Endurance Championship rounds for Peugeot as his schedule permits.
The only sticking point for Bourdais and Dragon could be the return of the Milwaukee round which is rumored to fall on the weekend of June 16-17, the same weekend as Peugeot’s one can’t-miss event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“That was part of the negotiations, which slowed the agreement a little bit,” Bourdais explained. “Jay needed some approval from the sponsors that it would be OK for me to miss one race if that scenario materializes. I’ve secured Le Mans because I already had a deal for that. [Returning to Indy cars] doesn’t change my involvement that much with Peugeot. Peugeot right now hasn’t confirmed everything yet, and it was difficult for me to commit to something [with Peugeot] without knowing exactly what they were going to do. It was a little tough on that.
“Initially, we discussed doing the full championship with [Peugeot]. But they couldn’t guarantee that in time, so when I looked at the schedule, at least as of today, there are only two conflicts at Silverstone and Brazil, so it leaves plenty of room for me to do some [WEC] races. Right now, we’re going to focus on the first three—Sebring, Spa and Le Mans—and we’ll see where that goes.”
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