After spending last season with Dragon Racing, Sebastien Bourdais makes the move to KVSH Racing in 2014, and so far, the move has been a great experience.
“Really feeling very fortunate because I got a great group of guys around me. They’ve been working really hard all winter. It’s really paying off,” Bourdais commented. “I think it’s needless to say that work is rewarded. As far as we’re concerned, it’s been the hardest winter in terms of work that I’ve seen my team go through in a long time. It makes you feel great because you know the level of preparation is quite high. We’ve been able to test four times. Another one at Barber before the season starts.”
Bourdais added that the progress has been great so far, but it may not be totally right off the bat. However, Bourdais is fine with that as he looks to build with the team over the next two years.
Though so far, Bourdais has impressed in testing as he has been in the top three in speed charts so far. The success has caught hte attention of many people in the paddock and questioning why he wasn’t picked up by a bigger team.
“The common thread in racing is short-term memory,” Bourdais commented. “I don’t look at what people say, write or think of me. I try to be myself, do the best I can, and hopefully eventually it pays off and works out.
“For sure this year I do feel like there is a lot of potential, unexplored potential at KV. Last year was an eye-opener when Tony (Kanaan) won the 500. I think it’s pretty much to the credit at KVSH. They worked very hard. They have a great group of guys who really love racing, which is not so easy to find. I could not put a strong enough point on saying that this group can win, that’s for sure.”
Bourdais is hopeful that he can win some races this year and hopes it happens with the hard work that the team has put in so far.
“Every time we’ve unloaded the car, it’s been a bit of a struggle at times, but we just kept digging in, kept digging in,” he commented. “As long as we know and understand what actually makes the car faster, I think we’ve done just that during all these tests this winter, we end up finishing the test in good shape. That’s making me feel very hopeful.
“It’s not a moving target. You might struggle a little bit to find the answers and solutions, but we do find them eventually. They know what they’re shooting for and why they work so hard. It’s great. I haven’t felt that way in a long time. I feel like there’s something pretty awesome to do and am really pumped about it.”
The french driver will start off his season off with the rest of the gang in the city that he resides in – St. Petersburg, Florida. Bourdais says he’s lived there since 2003.
“It was my very first race in open-wheel in the U.S., started out on the right foot. Great memories from that. It’s been really a great place for me to spend time, obviously bring the family over,” he commented. “When I arrived in the U.S., I was a kid kind of. I evolved from being married, having a child, then another one. We’re raising the family in St. Pete in a great neighborhood. Starting the season at home is a great feeling. Hopefully we can get things going right and have a great weekend in St. Pete, because it’s not been so great so far since I returned to IndyCar.
“Hopefully we can have a better showing this year.”
