Bourdais snatches IndyCar victory on streets of St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. » Sebastien Bourdais won IndyCar’s seasonopening race in St. Petersburg on Sunday, a victory handed to him when Alexander Rossi and Robert Wickens crashed racing for the lead.

Wickens was heading to a victory in his IndyCar debut until two late cautions gave Rossi a chance to take it away.

On a restart with two laps remaining, Rossi tried to dive inside of Wickens entering the first turn. The two cars made contact and Wickens spun off course.

Bourdais slid by both third for the victory.

It is the 37th career victory for the Frenchman, who ranks sixth on IndyCar’s all-time list. Bourdais trails Al Unser by two wins for fifth on the list.

It was the sixth victory for Dale Coyne Racing, the first since Bourdais won at St. Petersburg last year. cars from