Bourdais completes comeback with IndyCar win, puts wreck behind him

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There was never a question if Sebastien Bourdais would return to racing after suffering serious injuries from a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It was rather a matter of how fast he could get back in a car. Doctors told him 2018; Bourdais said he’d be healed in time to race again last year. He succeeded.

But a fiery accident that caused a broken pelvis and a broken hip can change a driver’s mentality no matter how determined he was to race again, so it was reasonable to wonder: Would Bourdais be the same driver? Absolutely. His comeback from a vicious wreck, the kind that can end careers, was completed Sunday when Bourdais showed he’s still a winner. He made it two straight at St. Petersburg, the adopted hometown for the Frenchman, and won IndyCar’s season-opening event.

It doesn’t matter how it happened, or that Bourdais was gifted the victory, only that he could indeed win again.

“I was very emotional in the car. I think you get the questions from people: Is he going to be the same? Is he going to come back? Is he this? Is he this?” Bourdais said. “I really try not to leave any room for uncertainty as far as what I was going to do and how forward I was going to go by coming back last year, 2½ months later.

“It’s been bumpy, it’s been tough, it’s been everything in between. It’s been pretty hard for myself. It’s quite an achievement to be able to restart the season and settle the matter right away and get back on the horse and win another one.”