Sebastien Bourdais Qualifying Summary:
In his best qualifying effort of the young 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season, Sebastien Bourdais qualified fifth for tomorrow’s Honda Grand Prix of Alabama on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park permanent road course in Leeds, AL. Bourdais, behind the wheel of the No. 18 Team SealMaster – Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan machine, was in the top-five (getting as high as second) in all three of the practice sessions, two on Friday and one this morning, prior to qualifying. He went out in Group 1, Round 1 of qualifying and recorded the fourth fastest lap in his group of 12 drivers advancing him to Round 2. In the second round he logged the sixth quickest lap, just enough to advance him into the final round of road/street course qualifying, the Firestone Fast Six. For the final round the team waited until there was approximately four minutes left in the session before heading out on track. Bourdais ran one stint and turned his fastest lap on his last lap, good for fifth on the speed charts. The Honda GP of Alabama is Round 3 of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season.
Sebastien Bourdais Qualifying Quote:
“Overall I’m pretty happy with fifth. I was happy the No. 18 SealMaster Honda made it into the Firestone Fast Six, but I am not happy that I couldn’t fight for the pole. It’s been very close all weekend. The conditions changed a lot and I’m just not getting a good feel for what the tires need. We’ll keep trying and see what we can come up with for the race tomorrow.”
Fast Facts:
This is by far Bourdais’ best qualifying position of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season. In the first two events his qualifying efforts were plagued by red flags and he ended up starting 19th in the season opener at St. Petersburg, FL and 17th at Austin, TX.
Bourdais is contesting his 14th NTT IndyCar Series season, fourth with Dale Coyne Racing and second with Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser-Sullivan.
The 2019 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will be Bourdais’ 191st career NTT IndyCar Series start and ninth at Barber Motorsports Park.
In 190 career IndyCar starts, Bourdais 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.
dalecoyneracing.com 