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Sebastien Bourdais wins hometown Grand Prix of St. Petersburg again

A late wreck allows the St. Petersburg resident to take the victory.
 
Published March 11, 2018|Updated March 11, 2018

ST. PETERSBURG — When Sebastien Bourdais cut a tire on the opening lap of Sunday's Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, he feared the worst.

"Here we go again," Bourdais thought.

It ended up being the best kind of déjà vu for the 39-year-old native Frenchman.

Just like last year, the St. Petersburg resident found himself at the back of the field early. And just like last year, Bourdais passed everyone, this time navigating a crash between leader Robert Wickens and Alexander Rossi with two laps left to earn back-to-back Grand Prix wins.

"Just a crazy day," said Bourdais, who beat runnerup Graham Rahal under caution. "I couldn't dream of that ending."

That's because this IndyCar season-opening victory was even more dramatic than the last one at his adopted hometown track thanks to the chaos that bookended the 110-lap race.

Drivers have said all offseason that they didn't know what to make of IndyCar's new aero kits, other than the fact that less downforce and looser back ends could cause more trouble.

They were right.

Two-time Grand Prix winner Will Power spun out. Former Indy 500 champion Tony Kanaan went sideways. Veteran Charlie Kimball got off-course and stalled near the Turn 13 tires.

And that was just the first two laps.

"It was a bit of a crazy start," Bourdais said, "and then it just kept getting crazier and crazier."

Adding to the craziness was the race's dominant leader: Wickens, a 28-year-old who became the third rookie in 25 years to win the pole for his IndyCar debut.

Wickens led a race-high 69 laps (including 19 of the first 24) in his No. 6 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda and needed only 11 laps to open up a two-second lead on the field. Rossi — the 2016 Indy 500 champion — seemed like one of the only cars that could challenge him on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street course.

But Rossi made a costly error with 12 laps to go when pushed too hard to make up Wickens' one-second lead. He went wide and had to slow down, costing him two seconds and, he thought, the race.

"It was going to be pretty hard to reel him back in there," Rossi said.
Except the chaos wasn't over.

Sebastien Bourdais speeds past spectators and AL Lang Stadium during the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. (GABRIELLA ANGOTTI-JONES | Times)

With 10 laps to go, rookie Rene Binder went into the tires to set up one uneventful restart.

Max Chilton stalled moments later to set up a second one with two laps to go. Bourdais, sitting comfortably in third and happy to start the year on the podium, wasn't happy; he thought someone would make a risky maneuver and wreck the field.

"It's going to be terrible," Bourdais said. "People are going to feel like a million dollars … and we're going to end up with a pile of cars on top of each other in Turn 1."

Bourdais wasn't too far off.

Rossi charged inside Wickens to go for the lead in the first turn. Rossi said Wickens' defensive move forced him into the slick marbles of an already slippery corner. Wickens said Rossi braked too late.

Regardless, Rossi hit Wickens and ended both of their victory hopes. Rossi recovered to finish third, while Wickens got stuck and finished 18th in the 24-car field.

"The only pity is he carried on to a podium," Wickens said, "and I ended up in the fence."

Bourdais squeezed his No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda between both of them to take the lead, and the ensuing yellow flag — the eighth of the race — gave Bourdais his 37th career win.

The victory was more emotional and perhaps even more unlikely than 2017. Bourdais' career could have ended last May after a fiery qualifying crash before the Indianapolis 500. He returned to competition three months later for the season's final three races.

His winning car last year was quick. This one, he said, was worse; his qualifying result and practice sessions both ranked outside the top 12.

"We had an eighth-place car today," Coyne said. "His consistency makes that a fourth-place car, and luck made it a winning car."

And put Bourdais atop the field in his adopted hometown for the second year in a row.