Sébastien Bourdais

French racecar driver

Sébastien Olivier Bourdais[1] (born 28 February 1979 in Le Mans) is a French race car driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the Champ Car World Series. He won four championships in a row, from 2004 to 2007.

Sébastien Bourdais
Bourdais during his ChampCar days
Born (1979-02-28) 28 February 1979 (age 45)
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityFrench
Active years20082009
TeamsScuderia Toro Rosso
Entries27
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points6
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry2008 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry2009 German Grand Prix
2009 position19th (2 pts)
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1999–2002, 2004, 2007, 2009
TeamsLarbre Compétition, Pescarolo Sport, Peugeot
Best finish2nd (2007), (2009)
Class wins0

He drove in Formula One for the Toro Rosso team during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He was unable to repeat his past successes. Bourdais currently drives for Peugeot Sport in the Le Mans Series and for French football club Olympique Lyonnais in the Superleague Formula series.

Early years change

Born into a racing family, Bourdais began his racing career at age 10 in kart racing. Bourdais progressed to single-seater racing in 1995, finishing 9th in the Formula Campus Championship. He then spent two years in the French Formula Renault Championship. He finished second in points in 1997. In 1998, he won five races to become Rookie of the Year (6th overall) in French F3. He won the series outright in 1999, with eight wins and three poles.

In 2000, Bourdais joined the Prost Junior Team in the International F3000 Championship. He finished ninth in the series. In 2001, he moved to the DAMS team and took his first win in the series. He changed teams again for 2002, joing Super Nova Racing. Bordais had three victories and seven pole positions. He won the championship by two points.[2]

Champ Car career change

 
Bourdais won his second Champ Car title in 2005.

Bourdais moved to Champ Car racing in the United States. He and joined Newman-Haas Racing for the 2003 CART World Series season. At St. Petersburg, Florida, Bourdais became the first rookie since Nigel Mansell to claim pole position for his first race. His first Champ Car victory came at Brands Hatch.

For 2004, Bourdais dominated the Champ Car series. He had seven wins and eight poles in his Lola. His won his first championship. Bourdais won a fourth consecutive Champ Car title in 2007 with victory at Lexmark Indy 300 on October 21.

Formula One career change

Toro Rosso change

 
Bourdais driving for Toro Rosso at the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix.

On 16 March 2008 Bourdais competed in his first Formula One Championship race, the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. He finished the year in 17th place with four points.

Bourdais tested for the Toro Rosso team during the winter. On 6 February 2009 he was confirmed as a Toro Rosso driver for a second year.[3] He had two points finishes in at the Australian Grand Prix and the Monaco Grand Prix.

On 16 July 2009, Toro Rosso announced that Bourdais would no longer be driving for the team.[4] It was reported that Bourdais was thinking about sueing Toro Rosso, claiming that the team breached his contract.[5] It was then reported that Toro Rosso paid him $2.1 million to avoid legal action.[6]

24 Hours of Le Mans change

Bourdais has frequently raced the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. He entering for the first time in 1999, at the aged of 20. He drove a Porsche 911 GT2 run by Larbre Competition. He returned in 2000, finishing fourth with Emmanuel Clerico and Olivier Grouillard for the Pescarolo team behind the three dominant Audis.[2]

His next three appearances did not go so well. In 2001 his car retired after 271 laps. The next year, he finished ninth in the LMP900 class. He missed the 2003 race and returned in 2004, but his car retired after 282 laps.[2]

Bourdais' next race at Le Mans would come in 2007. He drove a factory-backed Peugeot 908. The car he shared with Stéphane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy finished the race second.[2] In 2009 he drovr for the Peugeot factory team again. He finished in second place, one lap behind the winning Peugeot. Bourdais was to drive the pole-winning #3 Peugeot in 2010. A suspension failure halted the car before Bourdais could turn a lap in the race[7]

Superleague Formula change

After leaving Formula One, Bourdais signed up to drive the Sevilla FC car in the Superleague Formula series.[8][9] He won on his debut weekend at the 2009 Estoril round in the Super Final.[10][11] Bourdais won again at the next round, winning race 1 of the 2009 Monza round.[12] He returned for the 2010 season racing for Olympique Lyonnais.[13]

Sports and stock car racing career change

Bourdais made several appearances in other championships. He won the Spa 24 Hours in 2002 in a Larbre Compétition Chrysler Viper GTS-R. He also won his class at the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring in a Panoz Esperante.[2] In 2005 he also competed in the International Race of Champions, winning his first stock car race at Texas Motor Speedway. In 2009, he set the official lap record at Sebring International Raceway, during the 12 Hours of Sebring. In 2010, Bourdais raced in a Level 5 Motorsports prepared Daytona Prototype in Rolex 24 at Daytona, held at Daytona International Speedway in Florida.

Motorsports career results change

Career summary change

Season Series Team Name Races Poles Wins Points Final Placing
1995 French Formula Renault Campus ? ? 0 0 ? 9th
1996 French Formula Renault ? ? 0 0 ? 7th
1997 French Formula Renault La Filière 18 5 4 172 2nd
1998 French Formula Three La Filière 22 0 0 98 6th
British Formula Three La Filière 1 0 0 0 NC
Macau Grand Prix Equipe de France 1 0 0 N/A NC
Masters of Formula Three ? 1 0 0 N/A 20th
1999 French Formula Three La Filière 20 3 8 229 1st
Le Mans 24 Hours Larbre Compétition (GTS) 1 0 0 N/A NC
Macau Grand Prix Equipe de France 1 0 0 N/A NC
Masters of Formula Three ? 1 0 0 N/A 10th
2000 Formula 3000 Prost Junior Team 10 1 0 9 9th
Le Mans 24 Hours Pescarolo Sport (LMP 900) 1 0 0 N/A 4th
2001 Formula 3000 DAMS 12 1 1 26 4th
Le Mans 24 Hours Pescarolo Sport (LMP 900) 1 0 0 N/A 4th
FIA Sportscar Championship Pescarolo Sport (SR1) 2 0 0 0 NC
2002 Formula 3000 Super Nova Racing 12 6 3 56 1st
24 Hours of Le Mans Pescarolo Sport (LMP 900) 1 0 0 N/A 10th
FIA Sportscar Championship Pescarolo Sport (SR1) 3 1 2 55 4th
2003 CART World Series Newman/Haas Racing 18 5 3 159 4th
2004 Champ Car World Series Newman/Haas Racing 14 8 7 369 1st
Le Mans 24 Hours Pescarolo Sport (LMP1) 1 0 0 N/A NC
2005 Champ Car World Series Newman/Haas Racing 13 6 6 348 1st
International Race of Champions N/A 4 2 1 46 5th
IndyCar Series Newman/Haas Racing 1 0 0 18 28th
American Le Mans Series Larbre Compétition (GTS) 1 0 0 0 NC
Rolex Sports Car Series Silverstone Racing 1 0 0 6 89th
2006 Champ Car World Series Newman/Haas Racing 14 6 7 387 1st
Grand-Am Cup GS ? 1 0 0 24 80th
2007 Champ Car World Series Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 14 6 8 364 1st
Le Mans 24 Hours Team Peugeot Total 1 1 0 N/A 2nd
2008 Formula One Scuderia Toro Rosso 18 0 0 4 17th
2009 Le Mans 24 Hours Team Peugeot Total 1 0 0 N/A 2nd
Formula One Scuderia Toro Rosso 9 0 0 2 19th
Superleague Formula Sevilla FC 6 1 1
2010 Superleague Formula Olympique Lyonnais 10 0 1
Le Mans 24 Hours Team Peugeot Total 0 1 0 N/A N/A

Complete International Formula 3000 results change

  • Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap (key)
Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
2000 Gauloises Formula IMO
Ret
SIL
10
CAT
8
NÜR
4
MON
Ret
MAG
2
A1R
9
HOC
DNS
HUN
14
SPA
Ret
9th 9
2001 DAMS INT
3
IMO
Ret
CAT
11
A1R
Ret
MON
4
NÜR
8
MAG
6
SIL
1
HOC
4
HUN
3
SPA
6
MNZ
9
4th 26
2002 Super Nova Racing INT
14
IMO
1
CAT
3
A1R
Ret
MON
1
NÜR
1
SIL
2
MAG
2
HOC
Ret
HUN
3
SPA
2
MNZ
Ret
1st 56

American Open-Wheel change

  • Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap (key)

CART/Champ Car results change

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points
2003 Newman/Haas STP
11
MTY
17
LBH
16
BRH
1*
LAU
1*
MIL
9
LAG
17
POR
14
CLE
1
TOR
4
VAN
3
ROA
2
MDO
5
MTL
19
DEN
2
MIA
17
MXC
2
SRF
17
4th 159
2004 Newman/Haas LBH
3
MTY
1
MIL
18
POR
1
CLE
1
TOR
1
VAN
5
ROA
3
DEN
1
MTL
15
LAG
8
LVS
1
SRF
2
MXC
1
        1st 369^
2005 Newman/Haas LBH
1
MTY
5
MIL
6
POR
2
CLE
5
TOR
5
EDM
1
SJO
1
DEN
1
MTL
4
LVS
1
SRF
1
MXC
17
          1st 348
2006 Newman/Haas LBH
1
HOU
1
MTY
1
MIL
1
POR
3
CLE
18
TOR
3
EDM
2
SJO
1
DEN
7
MTL
1
ROA
3
SRF
8
MXC
1
        1st 387
2007 Newman/Haas/Lanigan LVS
13
LBH
1
HOU
1
POR
1
CLE
12
MTT
2
TOR
9
EDM
1
SJO
5
ROA
1
ZOL
1
ASN
7
SRF
1
MXC
1
        1st 364

^ New points system introduced in 2004

IndyCar results change

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points
2005 Newman/Haas  
HMS
 
PHX
 
STP
 
MOT
 
INDY
12
 
TXS
 
RIR
 
KAN
 
NSH
 
MIL
 
MIS
 
KTY
 
PPIR
 
SNM
 
CHI
 
WGL
 
FON
28th 18

Formula One results change

  • Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap (key)
Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 WDC Points
2008 Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR2B Ferrari 056 2.4 L V8 AUS
7*
MAL
Ret
BHR
15
ESP
Ret
TUR
Ret
17th 4
Toro Rosso STR3 MON
Ret
CAN
13
FRA
17
GBR
11
GER
12
HUN
18
EUR
10
BEL
7
ITA
18
SIN
12
JPN
10
CHN
13
BRA
14
2009 Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR4 Ferrari 056 2.4 L V8 AUS
8
MAL
10
CHN
11
BHR
13
ESP
Ret
MON
8
TUR
18
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN BRA ABU 19th 2

*Did not finish the race but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race

Superleague Formula results change

  • Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap (key)

2009 change

Year Team Operator 1 2 3 4 5 6
2009   Sevilla FC Reid Motorsport MAG
 
ZOL
 
DON
 
EST
 
MOZ
 
JAR
 
11 2 1 3 2 6

2009 Super Final results change

  • Super Final results in 2009 did not count for points towards the main championship.
Year Team Operator 1 2 3 4 5 6
2009   Sevilla FC Reid Motorsport MAG
 
ZOL
 
DON
 
EST
 
MOZ
 
JAR
 
N/A 1 N/A 2

2010 change

Year Team Operator 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2010   Olympique Lyonnais LRS Formula SIL
 
ASS
 
MAG
 
JAR
 
NÜR
 
ZOL
 
BRH
 
ADR
 
POR
 
ORD
 
TBA
 
NAV
 
15 1 4 17 DN X 9 15 X 7 18 X 14 17 X

Le Mans 24 Hours results change

Year Team Car Team colleague Team colleague Final Placing
1999   Larbre Compétition Porsche 911 GT2   Jean-Pierre Jarier   Pierre de Thoisy Did Not Finish
2000   Pescarolo Sport Courage C52   Olivier Grouillard   Emmanuel Clérico Rank 4
2001   Pescarolo Sport Courage C60   Jean-Christophe Boullion   Laurent Redon Rank 13
2002   Pescarolo Sport Courage C60   Jean-Christophe Boullion   Franck Lagorce Rank 10
2004   Pescarolo Sport Courage C60   Emmanuel Collard   Nicolas Minassian Did Not Finish
2007   Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP   Stéphane Sarrazin   Pedro Lamy Rank 2
2009   Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP   Stéphane Sarrazin   Franck Montagny Rank 2
2010   Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP   Simon Pagenaud   Pedro Lamy Did Not Finish

References change

  1. "Sebastien Bourdais". news.bbc.co.uk. 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Who's Who: Sebastien Bourdais". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
  3. Beer, Matt (2009-02-06). "Bourdais confirmed at Toro Rosso". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  4. Elizalde, Pablo (2009-07-16). "Toro Rosso confirms Bourdais' exit". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  5. "Toro Rosso confirms Bourdais' exit". itv-f1.com. ITV. 2009-07-17. Archived from the original on 2009-07-19. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  6. "Toro Rosso settles with Bourdais". gp.com. 2009-08-07. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  7. "Audi claim victory as Peugeot crumble". Autosport.com. 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  8. "Bourdais to compete in Superleague". Auto Trader. 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-27.[permanent dead link]
  9. "Bourdais joins Superleague Formula". AOL. 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  10. "Bourdais wins on Superleague debut". ITV-F1. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  11. "Superleague: Bourdais wins Estoril super final". Racer. 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  12. "Bourdais making his mark in Superleague, wins race one at Monza". AutoWeek. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-10-09. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  13. Bourdais joins Lyon for 2010

Other websites change