Indy 500 – Bourdais on track to qualify

“Sébastien, what do we call it? », asks a fan at Manceau. " Patience " replies the latter. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the four-time champion Champcar should have raced there last Thursday, exactly a week ago. But the disputes between Dragon Racing and Lotus prevented him from doing so. It is therefore from the pit wall that Bourdais and her teammate Katherine Legge observed their comrades, while wondering if they too would be allowed to participate in the party.

Finally, team boss Jay Penske was finally able to reach an agreement with Chevrolet. And this morning at 10:30 a.m. (local time), the authorities of theIndyCar validated the change of engine supplier. Bourdais was therefore able to take to the track, at the wheel of the car de Legge, responsible for adjusting the chassis before handing over the wheel to his British teammate. He took the opportunity to complete his “refresher program” (review session), while Legge will have to undergo the Rookie Orientation Program. “I'm delighted to be here, admits the Frenchman. But the problem is that we now only have two days left to understand everything. It doesn't take much to go from a bad car to a good one and vice versa. So it’s only a stone’s throw from where we should be.”

On the organizational side, we are also delighted to finally see the Dragon Racing drivers take to the track. “We are pleased to see this issue resolved, especially as we enter the final days of free practice before qualifying, underlines IndyCar boss Randy Bernard. I must thank all parties who worked together to preserve the tradition of the Indianapolis 500.”

Indeed, the presence of the two Dragon Racing single-seaters brings the number of entrants to 33, which corresponds to expectations. The mechanics are now on deck to assemble Sébastien Bourdais' DW12 before this evening's sixth free practice session. Le Manceau will not lack work. New car and new engine on an oval that he hasn't used for 7 years. Here he is faced with a major challenge…