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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Bourdais’ Street Fighter Sector Times
Amidst the concrete and fencing, Sebastien Bourdais put on a show at St. Pete in the sections of the track where top speed wasn’t a factor.
Sebastien Bourdais left nothing on the table in the corners at St. Pete, and it showed. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
Tucked away in an obscure timing & scoring report, the true brilliance of Sebastien Bourdais’ drive at St. Pete is revealed.
The 33-year-old Frenchman shocked his rivals by running as high as third during last Sunday’s 100-lap season opener, which would seem like enough of an accomplishment on its own, but the circumstances surrounding Seb’s competitive performance—and his outright speed—deserve a deeper look.
“If you told me then on Thursday we would have the race like we did, I think you’d have been a bit crazy,” he said.
Speaking with Bourdais in the paddock the day before practice, he stared at his brand-new car, sans engine, and commented on how much work it would take to hit the track for first practice in the morning.
“I don’t have any expectations right now,” he said, trying to keep his concerns internalized. “The mechanics have done an incredible job with Katherine [Legge’s] car; it ran with no issues out of the box, so I think we can do the same with mine, but it has zero miles and it still needs and engine…”
Bourdais’ prediction proved to be correct as his Lotus-powered No. 7 entry finished 21st of 26 cars in P1, 19th in P2, 16th in P3, but started on the final row when his two fastest laps were excluded after causing a red flag in qualifying.
That setback, as open-wheel fans would soon learn, was a blessing in disguise.
He’d bide his time early in the race, picking up positions as cars pitted, and using a three-stop plan, would vault from 20th to seventh when most of the field stopped for fuel and tires during a mid-race caution.
The No. 7 would get all the way to third as more cars pitted while Bourdais waited to make his final stop on Lap 70, returning to the track in 14th.
The clock was ticking on Seb’s race as communications issues between his drive-by-wire throttle system and the McLaren ECU went dead on Lap 73 while he sat in 10th. Game over.
If the shock sight of a Lotus-powered car mixing it up in the top 3 wasn’t enough, the data generated from INDYCAR’s data loops throughout the 1.8-mile, 14-turn circuit told an even more impressive tale.
Forget the laps and positions held on the track—what Seb did in the corners during his mid-race charge is the stuff of legends.
To start, Bourdais set the eighth-fastest lap of the race, directly ahead of a certain H. Castroneves who won the event. The next-fastest Lotus lap was turned by Oriol Servia, the 16th-best of the race.
The data loops reveal also where Bourdais made up his time, and it should be a surprise that it wasn’t on the straights.
Team Penske’s Will Power set the fastest top speed on the straight, clocking 160.177 mph, while Bourdais was 16th at 156.33 mph.
The 33-year-old Frenchman shocked his rivals by running as high as third during last Sunday’s 100-lap season opener, which would seem like enough of an accomplishment on its own, but the circumstances surrounding Seb’s competitive performance—and his outright speed—deserve a deeper look.
“If you told me then on Thursday we would have the race like we did, I think you’d have been a bit crazy,” he said.
Speaking with Bourdais in the paddock the day before practice, he stared at his brand-new car, sans engine, and commented on how much work it would take to hit the track for first practice in the morning.
“I don’t have any expectations right now,” he said, trying to keep his concerns internalized. “The mechanics have done an incredible job with Katherine [Legge’s] car; it ran with no issues out of the box, so I think we can do the same with mine, but it has zero miles and it still needs and engine…”
Bourdais’ prediction proved to be correct as his Lotus-powered No. 7 entry finished 21st of 26 cars in P1, 19th in P2, 16th in P3, but started on the final row when his two fastest laps were excluded after causing a red flag in qualifying.
That setback, as open-wheel fans would soon learn, was a blessing in disguise.
He’d bide his time early in the race, picking up positions as cars pitted, and using a three-stop plan, would vault from 20th to seventh when most of the field stopped for fuel and tires during a mid-race caution.
The No. 7 would get all the way to third as more cars pitted while Bourdais waited to make his final stop on Lap 70, returning to the track in 14th.
The clock was ticking on Seb’s race as communications issues between his drive-by-wire throttle system and the McLaren ECU went dead on Lap 73 while he sat in 10th. Game over.
If the shock sight of a Lotus-powered car mixing it up in the top 3 wasn’t enough, the data generated from INDYCAR’s data loops throughout the 1.8-mile, 14-turn circuit told an even more impressive tale.
Forget the laps and positions held on the track—what Seb did in the corners during his mid-race charge is the stuff of legends.
To start, Bourdais set the eighth-fastest lap of the race, directly ahead of a certain H. Castroneves who won the event. The next-fastest Lotus lap was turned by Oriol Servia, the 16th-best of the race.
The data loops reveal also where Bourdais made up his time, and it should be a surprise that it wasn’t on the straights.
Team Penske’s Will Power set the fastest top speed on the straight, clocking 160.177 mph, while Bourdais was 16th at 156.33 mph.
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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