Sébastien Bourdais facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sébastien Bourdais |
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Bourdais at the 2021 Indianapolis 500
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| Nationality |  French |
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| Born | Sébastien Olivier Bourdais 28 February 1979 Le Mans, France |
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| Racing licence |  FIA Platinum |
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| Achievements | 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Champ Car World Series Champion 2002 International Formula 3000 Champion 1999 French Formula Three Champion 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona overall winner 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona GTLM Class winner 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGTE Pro Class winner 2015, 2021 12 Hours of Sebring Winner |
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| Awards | 2003 CART FedEx Championship Series Rookie of the Year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IndyCar Series career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 151 races run over 12 years | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team(s) | No. 14 (A. J. Foyt Enterprises) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best finish | 7th (2018) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First race | 2005 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last race | 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First win | 2014 Honda Indy Toronto (Exhibition Place) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last win | 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Champ Car career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 73 races run over 5 years | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2003–2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best finish | 1st (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First race | 2003 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last race | 2007 Gran Premio de Mexico (Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First win | 2003 London Champ Car Trophy (Brands Hatch) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last win | 2007 Gran Premio de Mexico (Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born February 28, 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He currently races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He drives for Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing in the GTP category.
Bourdais is one of the most successful drivers in American open-wheel car racing history. He has won 37 races in total. He won four championships in a row in the Champ Car World Series. These wins were from 2004 to 2007. Later, he also competed in the IndyCar Series from 2011 to 2021. He also raced in Formula One for the Toro Rosso team in 2008 and 2009.
Sébastien has also raced sports cars throughout his career. He was a factory driver for Peugeot Sport and Ford Performance. He finished second three times at his home race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2016, he won the GTE-Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Since 2022, he has been a factory driver for Cadillac.
Contents
Early Racing Days
Sébastien Bourdais grew up in a racing family. He started his racing journey at age 10 in kart racing. In 1995, he moved to single-seater racing. He finished 9th in the Formula Campus Championship.
He then spent two years in the French Formula Renault Championship. In 1997, he finished second overall. In 1998, he won five races in French F3. He was named Rookie of the Year. The next year, 1999, he won the series with eight wins.
In 2000, Bourdais joined the Prost Junior Team. He raced in the International F3000 Championship. He finished ninth in the series. In 2001, he got his first win in the series. In 2002, he won the championship. He had three victories and seven pole positions that year.
Champ Car Success
After his success in F3000, Bourdais moved to Champ Car racing in the United States. He joined Newman/Haas Racing in 2003. At his very first race in St. Petersburg, Florida, he earned pole position. This was a first for a rookie since Nigel Mansell.
He won his first Champ Car race at Brands Hatch. He also won at the Lausitzring. By the end of 2003, he had three wins and five more podium finishes. He was named Rookie of the Year and finished 4th overall.
In 2004, Bourdais stayed with Newman-Haas. He dominated the Champ Car series. He won seven races and had eight pole positions. He also finished on the podium in 10 out of 14 events. He won the championship by a large margin.
Bourdais won his second Champ Car title in 2005. He had five wins in six races towards the end of the season. In May of that year, he also raced in his first Indianapolis 500. He finished 12th.
He won a third Champ Car title in a row in 2006. He started the season with four straight victories. He became the first Champ Car driver to win three titles in a row since Ted Horn in 1948.
Bourdais then won a fourth Champ Car title in a row in 2007. He secured the championship with a victory at the Lexmark Indy 300.
Formula One Experience
Before Champ Car, Bourdais had an F1 test with the Arrows team in 2002. He was almost signed to drive for them. But the team faced money problems. He also tested for Renault but did not get the spot.
Bourdais returned to F1 in 2007 for more tests. On August 10, 2007, it was announced he would join Scuderia Toro Rosso. He would be teammates with Sebastian Vettel. His first F1 race was the 2008 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. He started 17th but moved up to fourth place. An engine problem forced him to stop with three laps left. But he was still counted as 8th, earning two points.
At the Belgian Grand Prix, Bourdais started ninth. He moved up to fifth place and was close to a podium finish. But rain on the last lap caused him to drop to 7th. This was his best weekend of the season.
For the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Bourdais qualified fourth. However, his car had a problem at the start. He had to begin the race from the pit lane. He finished a lap behind his teammate Vettel. But he set the second-fastest lap of the race.
Bourdais continued with Toro Rosso in 2009. He scored points in Australia and Monaco. But he struggled to match his teammate, Sébastien Buemi. In Spain, he crashed with Buemi. At the British Grand Prix, he crashed with McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen.
On July 16, 2009, Toro Rosso announced that Bourdais would no longer drive for them. The team felt the partnership did not meet their hopes.
24 Hours of Le Mans
Bourdais has often raced in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race in his hometown. He first entered in 1999 at just 20 years old. His car had to stop early due to engine problems.
He returned in 2000 and finished fourth. His next few races at Le Mans did not go as well. He had to retire early in 2001 and 2004. In 2002, he finished ninth in his class.
Bourdais raced for the factory-backed Peugeot team in 2007. His car finished second, behind the winning Audi. He finished second again in 2009 with Peugeot. In 2010, his car had a suspension problem and had to stop. In 2011, he finished second for the third time with Peugeot.
In 2016, Bourdais won the GTE-Pro class at Le Mans. He was driving a Ford GT for Ford Performance. In 2018, he finished third in the GTE-Pro class.
Sports Car Racing
While racing in other series, Bourdais also made many appearances in sports car championships. In 2002, he won the Spa 24 Hours race. In 2006, he won his class at the 12 Hours of Sebring. In 2005, he won his first stock car race at Texas Motor Speedway.
In 2009, he set a new lap record at Sebring International Raceway. In 2011, he won a V8 Supercar race in Australia. This made him the only driver to win at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in both Champ Car and V8 Supercar. He also finished ninth in the Bathurst 1000 in 2015.
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In 2012, Bourdais won the first Brickyard Grand Prix. This was a Rolex Sports Car Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2014. In 2015, he finished second at Daytona and won the 12 Hours of Sebring.
In 2019, he joined the Mustang Sampling Racing team. He became a Cadillac factory driver in 2022.
IndyCar Career
Bourdais first raced in the IndyCar Series in 2005 at the Indianapolis 500. In his first full season in 2011, he finished 23rd in the championship.
He switched to Dragon Racing for 2012–2013. He finished 25th and 12th in those years. By 2014, he earned two pole positions and one victory. On July 20, 2014, he became one of only three drivers to win races in three different American open-wheel series.
In 2015, Bourdais had an impressive win at Detroit in heavy rain. He recorded his 33rd victory in American Championship car racing. He won again at the Milwaukee Mile in 2015. He finished 10th in points that year.
In 2016, he won another race in Detroit. In October 2016, he moved to Dale Coyne Racing. In his first race back with them, he won the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in 2017. He started last after a crash in qualifying. He then finished second at the Long Beach race.
On May 20, 2017, Bourdais had a bad crash while qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. He broke his pelvis and hip. He had to miss most of the season to recover. He returned for the last three races of the season.
In 2018, Bourdais returned to Dale Coyne Racing. He won the Firestone St. Petersburg Grand Prix again. He started 14th and had to overcome a lost tire. He was very emotional after the win. He also won pole position at Phoenix, his first on an oval since 2006.
On November 22, 2019, Dale Coyne Racing announced that Bourdais would not return in 2020. On February 4, 2020, he joined A. J. Foyt Enterprises for part-time racing. He finished fourth in the St. Petersburg finale. In 2021, he became a full-time driver for Foyt. At the end of 2021, Bourdais announced he would focus on sports car racing. He did not rule out racing in some IndyCar events in the future.
Images for kids
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Bourdais won his second Champ Car title in 2005.
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Bourdais winning the 2007 Grand Prix of Houston.
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Bourdais driving for Toro Rosso at the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix.
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Bourdais driving for Toro Rosso at the 2009 German Grand Prix.
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The Dome S102.5 that Bourdais drove at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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Bourdais driving at Monza during the 2001 FIA Sportscar Championship.
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Bourdais leading both Penske Porsche cars during the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona.
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Bourdais driving at the 2012 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
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Bourdais' No. 11 car after the running of the 2015 Indianapolis 500 where he placed 11th
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Bourdais competing at Road America during the 2018 IndyCar Series.
See also
In Spanish: Sébastien Bourdais para niños
