Bourdais pre race notes Portland
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS
18 TEAM SEALMASTER – DALE COYNE RACING WITH VASSER-SULLIVAN
HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE
Grand Prix of Portland – Portland International Raceway
August 30 – September 1, 2019
Sebastien Bourdais Summary:
Sebastien Bourdais will pilot the No. 18 Team SealMaster – Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser-Sullivan entry in the Grand Prix of Portland on the 1.967-mile, 12-turn Portland International Raceway permanent road course in Portland, Oregon. Bourdais is coming off a strong if disappointing race last weekend in St. Louis. He qualified second and was on course for a podium finish when he had an incident that ended his race. Bourdais is currently 12th in the championship standings with 312 points.
Sebastien Bourdais Quote:
“I am looking forward to going to Portland. We returned last year after not being there for a long time and it was a great event. It seemed like the whole city was behind it. The track is challenging, the fans are knowledgeable and the atmosphere in the city and at the track is great. I’ve had great success at PIR over the years (six starts five consecutive podium finishes with two wins 2004 and 2007), but last year was kind of special. I had a good car, we were fast all along but I made a mistake in final practice and crashed the 18 very hard. The entire team, everyone on Dale Coyne Racing and Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan pulled together to get the car repaired and back on track for qualifying. It was pretty impressive. We qualified fourth after probably one of the biggest hits I have ever had on a road course. In the race, we got swallowed up in an incident on the first lap, but we fought back and finished third. Just an amazing effort from the whole team.”
| Career Statistics | |||
| Seasons | 14th | Top-Five | 78 |
| Career Starts | 203 | Top-10 | 118 |
| Wins | 37 | Poles | 34 |
| Podium | 57 | Laps Led | 2,654 |
| 2019 NTT IndyCar Series Statistics | |||
| Starts | 15 | Top-10 | 7 |
| Wins | 0 | Poles | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 | Laps Led | 16 |
| Top-Five | 2 | ||
| 2019 NTT IndyCar Series Results | |||
| St. Petersburg S/F | 19/24 | Texas S/F | 3/8 |
| Austin S/F | 17/5 | Elkhart Lake S/F | 7/12 |
| Barber S/F | 5/3 | Toronto S/F | 8/8 |
| Long Beach S/F | 14/11 | Iowa S/F | 21/9 |
| INDYCAR GP S/F | 10/11 | Mid-Ohio S/F | 5/11 |
| Indianapolis 500 S/F | 7/30 | Pocono S/F | 11/7 |
| Detroit Race 1 S/F | 16/11 | St. Louis S/F | 2/24 |
| Detroit Race 1 S/F | 9/9 | ||
| Portland Statistic | |||
| Number of Starts | 6 | ||
| 2018 S/F | 4/3 | 2003 S/F | 4/14 |
| 2007 S/F | 3/1 | Best Start | 1st (2004) |
| 2006 S/F | 3/3 | Best Finish | 1st (2004, 2007) |
| 2005 S/F | 5/2 | Laps Led | 146 |
| 2004 S/F | 1/1 | ||
Fast Facts:
After the first 15 races of the 17-race NTT IndyCar Series season, Bourdais is 12th in the championship standings with 312 points. He has scored seven top-10 finishes including a season high third place finish at Barber and a fifth at COTA. He finished seventh at Pocono, eighth at Toronto and Texas, and ninth at Detroit GP Race 2 and Iowa. Bourdais also has four 11th place showings, Mid-Ohio, Detroit Race 1, Long Beach and the INDYCAR GP, placed 12th at Road America, 19th at St. Louis, 24th at St. Petersburg and 30th in the Indy 500.
The 2019 Grand Prix of Portland will be Bourdais’ 204th NTT IndyCar Series start and seventh at Portland International Raceway.
In six previous appearances at PIR, Bourdais has qualified in the top-five all six times with one pole, 2004. He has finished on the podium five times with two wins, 2004 and 2007.
Bourdais is contesting his 14th NTT IndyCar Series season and second with Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser-Sullivan.
In 203 career IndyCar starts, he has won 37 races (sixth all-time) and captured 34 pole positions (seventh all time).
Bourdais is the only driver to win four consecutive IndyCar championships (2004 – 2007).
Bourdais, 40, is a native of Le Mans, France but resides in St. Petersburg, Florida