Sebastien Bourdais finishes 13th at St. Petersburg

Sebastien Bourdais made his KVSH Racing debut interesting if not as successful as he had hoped, placing 13th today in the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Bourdais, behind the wheel of the No. 11 Team Hydroxycut - KVSH Racing Chevrolet/Dallara/Firestone entry, was consistently in the top-five during Friday and Saturday practice, but had his qualifying session marred by red flags and started 13th. From the drop of the green flag it was obvious this was going to be a tough day on the challenging 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit and despite a strong driving performance by Bourdais and outstanding work by his crew they simply could not overcome all of the difficulties thrown their way during the 110 lap race.

“It was a tough race,” Bourdais said. “Guys from back of the grid ruined the start of the race and I lost four positions on the first lap. I also bumped into Juan Pablo Montoya when the field checked up in turn eight. I ended up having to pit to replace my front wing on lap 12, which was very early and forced me to save a lot of fuel for the entire race. Despite all that, we were going to have a really good result because we had a rocket ship for a car. Then just as I was going to make my third stop the track went yellow, so I had to stay out. When I finally pitted I was out of fuel and the car stalled, but we were still in a good position and I knew I had a fast car. Then I was penalized for not packing up fast enough, which was pretty rough because I was packed up before the pits opened and no one was harmed. That really set us back, but we kept digging. It was such a valiant effort by the whole team and to finish where we started is very frustrating. I really feel bad for the guys because they worked so hard and for all our sponsors who came to the race and supported us. The only positive note is that we have a fast car so our time will come.”

Bourdais made his fifth appearance, but contested just his fourth race in St. Petersburg today (did not start in 2011) where he resides with his wife and two children. In three previous races (2003, 2012 and 2013) he has a pole, which he earned in his first U. S. based open-wheel event in 2003 and a best finish of 11th, which he earned last year.

Bourdais, 35, who was born in Le Mans France, is the only driver to win four consecutive U. S. open-wheel championships (2004 -2007). He has won 31 races (eighth all-time) and earned 31 poles (seventh all-time). Bourdais competed in 27 Formula One races (2008 – 2009) and has an impressive endurance racing record including a victory at the 2014 Rolex 24-Hour and a third at the 2014 12-Hour event at Sebring.

Next up for KVSH Racing is the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 11-13 on the streets of Long Beach, California.

KVSH Racing