BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Without rain, Sebastien Bourdais likely would’ve celebrated in victory lane. Because of it, he huddled under a tarp behind his team’s pit stand after today's race and explained his frustration with a fifth-place finish.
Bourdais led the timed conclusion of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by America’s First by 13.615 seconds with 9 minutes remaining in the timed race at Barber Motorsports Park. Unfortunately, it had started to rain. Bourdais was on slick tires and most everyone behind him was charging forward on rain tires.
Ultimately, Bourdais had to pit for rain tires with 7 minutes left and surrendered the lead to Josef Newgarden, who went on to win as Bourdais faded to fifth.
When asked if we would’ve won had the rain held off, Bourdais nodded affirmatively.
“Yeah, because I really took good care of my tires and I’d saved enough fuel that I really wasn’t going to need to do that (stop for fuel) down the road,” he said. “It’s a tough one, man.”
After postponement because of rain Sunday after 22 laps, the race restarted today with Bourdais in second place behind Newgarden. Bourdais and engineer Craig Hampson devised a strategy to save fuel to get the No. 18 Team SealMaster Honda for Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda into the lead.
It worked initially, as Bourdais took over first place when Newgarden pitted on Lap 49. Bourdais stayed in the lead for five laps before pitting, then regained the lead when Newgarden pitted again on Lap 71 – with about 15 minutes remaining – to take on rain tires and get a splash of fuel.
That’s when it became tricky for Bourdais and Hampson. Initially, the rain was light, but it steadily increased in intensity, making it more difficult to maintain car control on slicks. Eventually, Bourdais pitted for rain tires, then struggled to find grip.
“Believe it or not, I think it was probably harder on rains,” Bourdais said. “The last lap was the killer. I think we lost probably six seconds on that lap, maybe even more. I was losing three seconds a lap on the on the last two or three laps on rains. I don’t know exactly what happened there. The wheels fell off the wagon, for sure.”
Bourdais had to hold off Scott Dixon in a drag race to the finish line for fifth place. He’s third in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings with 119 points, trailing only Newgarden (158) and Alexander Rossi (145), who finished 11th.
“Pretty frustrating,” Bourdais said. “Overall, the guys did a great job again, but the weather decided what it was today.”
Bourdais will join most of the series field for Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval testing from April 30-May 2. The INDYCAR Grand Prix on the IMS road course is the next race, on Saturday, May 12 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Then comes the biggest motorsports day of the year, the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on Sunday, May 27 (11 a.m. ET, ABC).