Bourdais: « The competition is not lacking » in IndyCar
Sébastien Bourdais discusses with Motors Inside his early-year preparation, his new teammate, and his desire to return to Endurance racing to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 36-year-old from Le Mans has divided his career between single-seaters and endurance racing. Apart from a stint in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso, he has a victory in the highly competitive V8 Supercars at Surfer’s Paradise and the victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2014. His greatest achievement is undoubtedly in Champ Car, the equivalent of today’s IndyCar; he is the only driver in history to have won four consecutive North American single-seater championships between 2004 and 2007.
He begins his second season with KVSH, the team with which he rediscovered the taste for victory in 2014. “We tried to work as much as possible in continuity [for 2015],” says Sébastien Bourdais, “unfortunately, being a small team has its flaws; we weren’t able to keep everyone. Some elements tried to find better opportunities elsewhere. We lost my assistant engineer, we lost some mechanics.” But the Frenchman reassures us: “Overall, we kept the core of the group. It also allowed us to bring in Bill Papas, a renowned engineer with over 25 years of experience. This might allow us to cross-reference information and understand some small things that we hadn’t grasped, especially on the ovals. Last year, we faltered due to lack of time and experience.”
Adaptation to the new aerodynamic kit
In general, it hasn’t revolutionized the car technically, comments Sébastien about the Chevrolet aero kit. It allows the tires to warm up faster: The fact that we have more aero makes the tires work a bit more quickly. It also helps to have a greater variety of settings.
The team received the elements from the American manufacturer very late, but they were able to work on certain aspects theoretically: « The mechanical solutions that worked on the car are still valid. We have calculation tools that are accurate enough for that. It was a big part of the team’s work this winter. I’m quite happy; we had two test sessions that went well. In the end, we have a car that is well-balanced and performs well, so we’re starting on a good foundation. »
Testing on the NOLA and Barber circuits has helped establish settings for road courses, but the first meeting of the year takes place in the city; « On street circuits, it might be a little more complicated because we have a narrower operating window on ride heights. When we try to soften the suspension to absorb bumps, it’s a bit more challenging, but we have two days of testing on Monday and Tuesday at the small Sebring [a bumpy circuit]. We’ll focus on that to prepare for St. Petersburg [the first race] and see where we stand afterwards. »
The arrival of the new
This year, Bourdais will be assisted by a French speaker, the Monegasque Stefano Coletti: “He is someone very nice with whom I get along well,” continues the Frenchman, “the major positive point is that our feedback [on the car’s behavior] is very similar. It allows us to have two readings, to start with different setups and to cross-check the information.”
Stefano was the standout in the tests at Barber. He is by far the best rookie: « It will give the team another chance to shine because he will clearly be in the mix. He has quite a few tracks to learn, but he is someone with a lot of experience. For me, for sure, it means one more competitor on the track. Anyway, to win, you have to beat everyone. »
The 24 Hours of Le Mans
The man from Le Mans does not forget his first passion, the legendary endurance race where he has achieved three second-place finishes: « Winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a career goal of mine. Unfortunately, with the timing of Peugeot’s withdrawal, I had to find something else. The solution was to return to the United States and race in IndyCar, which is another of my passions. Now it’s clear that the structure of the calendar [condensed from February/March until the end of August] makes it impossible to combine an IndyCar program with a WEC program. » The Le Mans race takes place every year in mid-June. « It’s one or the other. Opportunities dictate careers. Today, I haven’t had an opportunity, since the Peugeot era, that allows me to return [to Europe]. »
Bourdais participates, from March 19 to 21, in the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race. He has just completed 3 days of testing in IndyCar since the previous Saturday and will head out for 2 more days of testing on the 23rd and 24th… before starting the first IndyCar race of the year, from the 27th to the 29th, in his adopted city: St Petersburg. It’s a very busy schedule for the start of 2015: We have too long of an “off” season for someone who tries to stay at the top, so it allows me to drive a little. It allows me to stay in the rhythm.
Remarks collected on 03/20/2015. The Motors Inside team thanks the KVSH team for organizing the interview, and Sébastien Bourdais for taking the time to respond to us shortly before the 12 Hours of Sebring tests.
