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IndyCar’s Sebastien Bourdais earns victory in Rolex 24 at Daytona

By Brittany Frederick

Sebastien Bourdais won the GT Le Mans class in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Photo Credit: Tim Holle/Courtesy of IndyCar
Sebastien Bourdais won the GT Le Mans class in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Photo Credit: Tim Holle/Courtesy of IndyCar /
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Sebastien Bourdais won the GT Le Mans class in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, leading the pack for the Verizon IndyCar Series drivers in the endurance race.

Sebastien Bourdais is getting a fresh start in 2017, beginning with the IndyCar veteran winning the GT Le Mans class and finishing fifth overall in this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Bourdais partnered with Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller to co-drive the No. 66 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT to the top of the GTLM standings, repeating the feat they achieved in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year.

But it wasn’t without a bit of nerves as Bourdais and Hand watched Mueller fight to hold onto the lead in the final 40 minutes Sunday, losing one of the Ford’s side mirrors in the process.

“I started to look at Joey and he was about as pale as I was,” Bourdais laughed to TV reporters after the race. “It’s very uncomfortable, but I couldn’t be any more proud of these guys than I am. That was an unbelievable job that Dirk did at the end to make it stick.”

The class victory is a positive start for the Frenchman as he hits the reset button on his IndyCar career. Bourdais will be rejoining Dale Coyne Racing for the upcoming 2017 season after leaving KV Racing in the offseason, and KV has yet to announce whether it will even field an entry on the IndyCar grid this year.

Chip Ganassi Racing was the biggest representation of IndyCar drivers in the Rolex 24. CGR is one of IndyCar’s two premier teams, and Mike Hull – who calls the shots for four-time champion Scott Dixon – oversaw the organization’s sportscar effort.

Dixon was on hand at Daytona in the No. 67 Ford GT that struggled mightily after former IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe drove it into the wall. They wound up tenth in class and 27th overall. Tony Kanaan, fresh off the Race of Champions, was part of the No. 69 Ford GT team that finished fifth in class and ninth overall.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, who was IndyCar’s highest finishing driver in last year’s Rolex 24 when he earned a podium, came home fifth in the GT Daytona class co-driving the No. 86 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX.

Graham Rahal and former IndyCar driver Katherine Legge were behind the wheel of the team’s sister car No. 93, but extensive front end damage forced them out of the Top 10 in class. They had to settle for 11th in GTD.

Things were even worse for the Mazda Motorsports program, which enlisted the help of IndyCar regulars James Hinchcliffe and Spencer Pigot. Hinchcliffe’s No. 70 Mazda had repeated technical problems and wound up 12th in the Prototype class (46th overall), while Pigot’s No. 55 Mazda actually caught fire. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver was uninjured, but his team’s race came to an early end.

If you’re a Verizon IndyCar Series fan, you have to be proud of the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona. To have an IndyCar driver claim a class victory plus another finish in the top ten, it’s a good day at the office for the open-wheel stars.

Next: Jeff Gordon earns his first Rolex 24 at Daytona victory

With the Rolex 24 at Daytona behind them, Sebastien Bourdais and his colleagues will now turn their attention back to their day jobs. Testing for the 2017 IndyCar season ramps up on Feb. 10 before the racing begins on March 12 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.