Who is "Sébastien Bourdais"

Everything starts on the 28th of February of 1979 in Le Mans, France where Sébastien, son of Patrick and Jocelyne Bourdais, is born. Sébastien is immerged in motor racing very early in his life through his father’s participations to numerous and diverse races such as climb races, touring car races, or the 24 hours of Le Mans. After years of incessant requests, Sébastien finally gets his first Go-Kart as a Christmas present in 1989. The competition is tough but Sébastien is a fast learner and the results are there almost instantly: Maine-Bretagne League Champion and 7th at the minime France Championship in 1991, 4th at the cadet France championship in 1992, and League champion in 1993. For him the next step is naturally the open-wheel racing.

Since his beginnings in open-wheel racing, Sébastien shows a strong potential, finishing 9th in the Formula Campus Championship in 1995 during which he demonstrates outstanding capacities in races such as Dijon where he beats all his competitors before abandoning right before the end of the race on a mechanical failure. The following year he takes part in the Formula Renault Championship in which he finishes 7th overall. This same year Sébastien takes the win in the Go-Kart 24 hours on the Alain Prost track in Le Mans. As the time goes by, Sébastien acquires more and more experience in motor racing. As a result, his accomplishments follow an ascendant path as well. In 1997 he finishes second in the Formula Renault Championship after mechanical failures and incidents in the last three races prevent him from winning the title. But, with the formula 3 championship, the French adage “one year to learn, one year to win” finally comes true: Sébastien finishes 6th in the championship and wins the Rookie of the Year title in 1998, before winning the title in 1999 with 8 victories in his stats. Sébastien’s love affair with endurance racing also starts in 1999 with his first participation to the 24 hours of Le Mans at the wheel of a Porsche 911 entered by Larbre Competition. Sébastien distinguishes himself by signing the fastest time of all Porsches during the race. Unfortunately, this amazing experience ends up too early for Sébastien’s team due to an engine failure after eleven hours of race. Sébastien doesn’t know it yet but, for him, it is just the beginning of a great adventure.

The following year, Henri Pescarolo, who is entering a prototype in Le Mans for the first time as a team, wants a young and talented driver in his team. He decides to give his chance to Sébastien. The two men met a few years before and Pescarolo had time to watch Sébastien grow into a brilliant recruit. This first participation in the 24 hours of Le Mans turns out to be a great success for both Sébastien and Pescarolo Sport: The car n°16 crosses the finish line in fourth position, right behind the three impervious Audis. This is an outstanding achievement for a car equipped with pretty much a stock engine and a ten year old chassis’ conception! As for open-wheel racing, Sébastien finds a seat with the Prost Grand Prix Junior Team in Formula 3000, which is the first international championship he participates in. Ever since his first race he makes a big impression, battleling for his first points. The level of the championship is extremely high but Sébastien is mature and experimented enough to be able to fight hard. Although Sébastien uses his first year in Formula 3000 to learn, he achieves quite a few outstanding performances like in Monaco where he qualifies on the first row, or in Magny-Cours where he signs the Pole Position before finishing second in the race.

The experts and aficionados are waiting for a confirmation from our young and promising driver in 2001 and Sébastien doesn’t disappoint them. Now racing for the team Dams, he finishes on the podium in his first race, signs a pole position in the fourth race and he finally takes the win in Silverstone. Along with these excellent performances, Sébastien shows an impressive regularity weekend after weekend, allowing him to finish persistently in the points. Thanks to his fourth place in the championship, he finds himself in the position to negotiate with the best teams for the following year. 2001 is also synonym of performance and recognition for Sébastien in endurance racing. Once again, Henri Pescarolo fully trusts his young prodigy and gives him the task to develop the C60-Peugeot the team prepares for the 24 hours of Le Mans. For Sébastien it is another occasion to gain more experience in the science (or maybe art) of setting up a car. After a few difficult races in the beginning of the season due to different reliability problems on the car, the team approaches the 24 Hours with a lot of optimism. The qualifications alter a little the positive mood in the team but the race goes so well that everybody believes in a podium: In spite of the very difficult racing conditions due to a pouring rain, Sébastien completes two triple relays back to back in the middle of the night and brings the car up to the third position. In the morning all hopes are permitted. Unfortunately, mechanical problems come up that complicate the situation; first, the gearbox, and then the engine force the team to give up on their dream of a podium finish. This is an awfully sad day for Sébastien and Pescarolo Sport.

The 2002 season starts with the first victory for Sébastien and Pescarolo Sport in Barcelona in the FIA Sportscar championship. This gives a lot of courage to the crew to finish the preparation of the two cars designed by André De Cortanze that the team is entering for Le Mans. However, they don’t get enough time to see the last details and realize the final modifications. As a consequence, the results in the 24 hours don’t meet Henri Pescarolo’s expectations: after qualifying 19th and 20th, they encounter under wing problems during the race that ruin their chances of having a good result. But, Sébastien and his team finally see their efforts rewarded by finishing second in the FIA Sportscar championship race in France, and by winning easily the last event in Spa-Francorchamps. As for the Formula 3000, after an uncertain off-season, Sébastien finally joins the Super Nova Team only three weeks before the start of the championship. It doesn’t seem to constitute much of a handicap for him since he signs the pole during the first race in Brazil. With three victories, six pole positions and five top-three finishes, Sébastien becomes the 2002 formula 3000 champion, and makes a strong impression on many Formula One team owners among with Tom Walkinshaw. The owner of the English team Arrows gives Sébastien the opportunity to drive a Formula One for the first time in Valencia. The test goes so well that Sébastien is offered a seat for the 2003 Formula One World Championship. Unfortunately, Arrows’ financial situation is critical, and after several attempts to save his team, Tom Walkinshaw has no other choice but to go bankrupt and liquidate the company, breaking at the same time his contract with Sébastien. A few months later, Sébastien gets another test with Renault F1 in Jerez, but the outcome is not to his advantage either.

Given that Sébastien doesn’t seem to have any real opportunity to race in Formula One the following year, he decides to take his chance in the U.S. where the renowned Newman-Hass Racing Team has signed him for a one-year contract after a conclusive test in Sebring. For his first season in Champcar Worldseries, Sébastien gives all the signs of a very talented rookie by signing two pole positions in the three first races before winning his first Champcar Grand-Prix in England in front of his teammate Bruno Junqueira. A second achievement comes just a week later in Germany on the Lausitz Ring. For his first oval race, Sébastien signs the pole position and takes the checkered flag. Sébastien writes history there, since no rookie has ever done it before! It is no surprise that with three victories and five pole positions, Sébastien is awarded with the “Rookie of the Year” title and finishes fourth in the standing points at the end of the season. The only regret Sébastien can express when coming back on this great year is that, without the several mechanical failures he encountered, he could have finished in the top three and maybe better. Sébastien’s last race of the season takes place at home on the occasion of the 1000km of Le Mans where he finishes second with Pescarolo Sport. This is a consolation prize for Sébastien, who was very disappointed not to be able to participate in the 24 hours of Le Mans in June due to a schedule conflict with a Champcar race. But that’s a promise; Sébastien would be back the following year in sportscar.

But before he gets to race in Le Mans again, Sébastien heads back to the U.S. to race in the first three events of the Champcar Worldseries in which is considered as a favorite. He comes back to his hometown in June for the 24 hours of Le Mans with a pole position and a win in Champcar. That’s a good start. Speaking of a good start, the 24 hours look very promising as well: Sébastien qualifies the car fifth on the grid and realizes one great time after another in the first part of the race, which brings him up to the fourth position. Unfortunately, a succession of mechanical problems punctuated by an engine failure prevents once again the team to see its effort rewarded with a good finish. Luckily for Sébastien, his races in Champcar Worldseries don’t follow the same scenario. After the disappointment of the 24 hours, he signs three victories in a row with his Lola and takes the lead of the championship, position that he will keep until the end of the championship. However, winning the title is easier said than done with a teammate who is running after the crown since three years and believes really hard in his chances for this season. If this situation is difficult to handle for both drivers, their battles on the track add a lot of fun and excitement for the fans: In Denver, Sébastien and Bruno get together at the start; Sébastien spins but manages to stay in the lead lap and overtakes his competitors one by one before claiming the victory. A few weeks later in Las Vegas, Sébastien takes the advantage over his teammate again after a breathtaking last thirty laps where the two drivers battle wheel to wheel at 200MPH for first place. With seven victories and eight pole positions, Sébastien rightfully becomes the new Champcar Worldseries champion after only two seasons racing in the series. There is no doubt that there is still a lot more to come from Sébastien, since we already know that he will be back for a third season in Champcar , a series that greatly emphasizes driving skills.

Sébastien Bourdais