Following the news that Sebastien Bourdais has been cleared to resume racing following his crash during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, it has been announced that the Frenchman will return to the #18 Dale Coyne Racing car for the final three rounds of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season.
Bourdais suffered multiple fractures to his pelvis and right hip in the crash but has been working hard on getting back to fitness, and after observations from the IndyCar medical team last week, he was cleared to race, and he comes back at the earliest opportunity at this weekends race at Gateway Motorsports Park.
“You have no idea how excited I am to be getting back in the car this weekend and for the remainder of the season,” said Bourdais. “It’s been a long 14 weeks and I’ve worked very hard to get to this point.
“Following the crash, I had one goal in mind and that was to be back for Sonoma, and here I am getting back in the car with three races to go. It’s a bit unbelievable but I can’t wait to try out that new surface at Gateway this weekend!”
With Bourdais back in the team alongside Ed Jones, it means that Esteban Gutierrez will step down from the drive, and he thanked the team for giving him the opportunity to race in IndyCar ahead of a planned full season attack in 2018.
“It’s been a very interesting few months for me getting to race in the Verizon IndyCar Series on the street circuits, road courses and especially ovals,” said Gutierrez.
“I want to thank the team and Dale Coyne for giving me this opportunity to gain this experience in view of a full-time program in the Verizon IndyCar Series next year.
“My goal was to learn as much as possible in order to be ready for 2018 where a new car will be introduced. This experience with the team will pay dividends next season.”
