RFM Front Page News

By Margot Orenchuk
Photos courtesy Margot Orenchuk and Jamie Longmuir
VANCOUVER, Canada (July 22, 2004) -- Sebastien Bourdais comes into Vancouver looking to tie a modern Champ Car series winning streak; if he can make it 4 in a row he will tie a 33-year old record. He’s not too concerned about it, however. His eye is simply on keeping up his Championship dream. Sebastien is 1^st in the points’ battle for the moment, and he’s very content to be there. Earlier this year Sebastien was also racing at Le Mans, the most prestigious road race on the planet – he’s not your average race-car driver. And we did speak to him about his drive there, so stay tuned for part 2 of this interview to be posted later this month. Here is what Seb had to say about his upcoming race weekend in False Creek, British Columbia.

Margot Orenchuk: You have the opportunity to tie the modern record for wins this weekend; obviously everyone is talking about this and breaking your concentration when you should be focusing on winning the race. How concerned are you about this milestone? I know you always say nothing every phases you but that must be a whole lot of pressure on you.

Sebastien Bourdais: No, I don’t really care about it that much, breaking records. It’s probably important to help bring some attention to the series, there is only so much I can do (to win) and it’s not saying that I’m not going to break a record or I am or bringing pressure into the weekend. I don’t need that. So I’m just going to do as well as I can, get the best out of the car, and do the very best job that I can. And if that is good enough, great.

MO: What did you think of Toronto? I guess you were just glad you were in front of all that?

SB: I was just very happy that I was in the pole position and we had a good clean start.

MO: Were you involved in any of it?

SB: No, not at all. I was just really glad to be up front! It was a mess.

MO: What was the strategy for the team? Besides staying out in front?

SB: The first stint was all about fuel consumption. They wanted me to stop one lap later than everyone else. And it was pretty hard for me to achieve; I couldn’t pull away like Tracy did last year, I had a very hard time to keep PT and Wilson behind me. But I still did it. And then Tracy and Wilson crashed into each other so then that just eased up my job quite a bit actually.

MO: And you think that will be the secret this weekend? Take pole and lead the parade?

SB: Well, on the street; unless you are at Elkhart Lake that is the only place pole position isn’t crucial.

MO: What about Vancouver, do you think you know that track well enough that you can pull off a pole here tomorrow?

SB: I think it’s very similar to Toronto, set-up wise. The track is not so far off. It should be good for me and the Newman-Haas team. We should have a good weekend.

MO: How do you find this track to drive?

SB: I like it ok; we found something during the warm-up last year and it was the first time I felt good in the car with the soft compound last year during the race here. Sometimes it’s much easier for me and I’m pretty happy with the car the way it is now. There isn’t a lot of preparation right now, and that’s good. I think we should be plenty fast.

MO: And your ride at Le Mans; not the way you hoped it would turn out. Will you be back?

SB: Absolutely, if the ride is there and they need me, I will go.

RFM would like to thank Kathi Lauterbach and Sebastien Bourdais for their time today. Best of luck as always to Newman-Haas Racing.

CHAMP CAR INTERVIEWS:

Alex Tagliani
Patrick Carpentier
Paul Tracy
Michel Jourdain, Jr.
Sebastien Bourdais
Nelson Phillipe
Justin Wilson