A Kinder, Gentler Sebastien Bourdais - Interview With Three 2015 IndyCar Races Left

KVSH Racing, Hydroxycut Hardcore® Elite, Mistic® electronic cigarettes, Chevrolet-powered and aerodynamically outfitted Dallara Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais as he gets instruction from the pit box during the MAVTv 500. Always improving, SeaBass finished the race as the last car on the lead lap - started at P15 and finished P11. Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2015)

A Kinder, Gentler Sebastien Bourdais - Interview With Three 2015 IndyCar Races Left

BEGIN INTERVIEW SCRIPT
Sebastien Bourdais, who currently races for a person he competed against in ChampCar, Jimmy Vasser at KVSH (formally KV Racing Technology), is one of the most successful championship drivers currently competing in the Verizon IndyCar Series with four season championships.

Between 2004 through 2007, he beat out the likes of Bruno Junqueuira, Oriol Servia, and Justin Wilson as runners-up for the ChampCar season title ... while Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Dario Franchitti were becoming champions in the separate Indy Racing League.

Bourdais re-joined the fight in open-wheel racing after the merger between the IRL and ChampCar by joining Dragon Racing and driving, the new Dallara DW12, outfitted with the short-lived Lotus Engine effort, but proved that the Lotus Power was up to competition on street and road races courses that featured a lot of corners.

In his second year with KVSH, driving the Chevrolet-powered and aerodynamically outfitted Dallara, Bourdais has two wins, one on the road/street - Race 2 at the Dual of Detroit, and one at the world's oldest racing course, the Milwaukee Mile oval. With 34 wins, Sebastien ties Al Unser, Jr. for seventh on the all-time list of American open-wheel career wins.

Also, in 2015, Sebastien Bourdais has a win at the Mobil 12 Hours of Sebring in the Tudor United Sports Car Championship with team drivers João Barbosa, and Christian Fittipaldi driving the #5 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype.

KVSH Racing, Hydroxycut Hardcore® Elite, Mistic® electronic cigarettes, Chevrolet-powered and aerodynamically outfitted Dallara Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. A good outing where SeaBass was able to qualify 9th and finish 6th. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2015)

Welcome Sebastien Bourdais ...

1)   Last weekend, during the race broadcast of the INDY Corn 300 in Iowa on NBCSN, we were treated to a video package that reviewed the tumultuous competitive relationship between you and Paul Tracy, that at times looked to almost come to physical blows on and around the track.

The two of you were shown being reflective and chummy, cruising around the Iowa countryside in a beautiful Corvette – one question, were you able to drive the Corvette that the two of you were taking a ride in?

2)  3-time champion Scott Dixon, after the Indy500, said the trailing turbulence, when one is behind 3 or more cars, makes it nearly impossible to charge toward the front - whereas, former team-mate Graham Rahal mentioned after the MAVTv500 at Auto Club Speedway, that the Chevy Turbulence was unpredictable but the Honda trailing turbulence was smoother and allowed for a better draft.

What has been your experience on the issue of trailing turbulence?

Is there a difference between Chevy to Honda?

What happened at the Milwaukee Mile and trailing turbulence? ... it appeared that since you had lapped the field at one point, this was never an issue as it may have been for others.

3)  It is good to see you at #6 in the 2015 championship points race after 13 races, with just three races left - the road course at Mid-Ohio, the superspeedway tri-oval at Pocono, and the double-points finale on the road course at Sonoma Raceway. Please tell us your planning and anticipation for these three races beginning with;

Mid-Ohio -

Pocono -

Sonoma Raceway near San Francisco -

4)  We believe we know how difficult it is to form a winning combination of sponsors, team mechanics/engineers, ownership, and driver testing. Will you be able to keep what has worked for you this year, in 2016?
What element do you think you could use more of, or would like to modify in any way?

5)  On a personal level, the folks at IndyCar put the word out that unlike a lot of competitors in the series; you enjoy driving your own coach to the racing venues. It stated in the public relations document that sometimes you are known to travel with wife Claire and two children, Alex and Emma, in tow. What do you enjoy most about traveling from race to race in a motorcoach?
What are you and Claire able to teach your kids?

Well, Sebastien Bourdais ... good luck for the rest of the season and we hope to see you on the podium again soon.
ENDS

... notes from The EDJE


TAGS: Sebastien Bourdais, Verizon IndyCar Series, KVSH, Jimmy Vasser, Bruno Junqueuira, Oriol Servia, Justin Wilson, Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon, Sam Hornish, Jr., Dario Franchitti, The EDJE, Race Talk Radio, Hydroxy Cut, Mistic

Champion Driver John Paul Jr. Now Drives Home A Cure

Van Nuys played host to Kevin Cogan (L) and John Paul Jr. (R) and a crowd of well wishers as they discussed increasing the awareness of Huntington's disease. Image Credit: Tom Stahler (2013)

Champion Driver John Paul Jr. Now Drives Home A Cure 

The following post, written by Tom Stahler, details a "where are they now" encounter with a motor culture icon this last weekend, a weekend that had many a Porsche owner and fan visit Southern California for literature, restoration/race-team open houses, and specialized Porsche commemorations using the LAX based 30th annual LA Lit and Toy Show as the excuse.

-- BEGIN --

The hardware earned throughout a career that spanned 19 years. Image Credit: Tom Stahler (2013) 

Many race fans around the globe remember John Paul Jr.  He was the youngest ever Champion in the IMSA GT series, Won at the 24 Hours at Daytona, scored a podium finish at the 24 Hours of LeMans, Led the Indianapolis 500, and won races in both CART and the IRL -- but then in 2001 he vanished, almost without a trace ...

John Paul Jr. would discover that his skills were rapidly deteriorating.  “My crew kept radioing to me that I was braking too early and decelerating into the corners.” said John Jr.  “I was always a late braker..”  John Paul Jr. didn’t notice how erratic his driving had become.  Sadly, as it would turn out, he would be diagnosed with the debilitating genetic disease, Huntington’s.

This would lead to his stepping out of the driver’s seat -- forever.  Like so many before him in the passionate world of big-time racing, the vortex of his career closed and the sport marched on with a new set of heroes.  But this hero has re-emerged to come forward with a message that he hopes will help many others.

John Paul Jr. (L) shares a moment with Vintage Motorsports magazine's Tom Stahler and John Morton at HD awareness event. Image Credit: Tom Stahler (2013)

On Saturday March 2, John Woerheide, a long-time friend and racer, gathered a number of notable race drivers, including IMSA legend John Morton, Indy star Kevin Cogan, collectors and friends of the embattled former racer to unveil the JLP-HD1 Porsche 935 -- encompassing all the great 935s that John Paul Jr. notably drove with so much success in IMSA.  The car will be campaigned throughout the year to raise awareness of the rare disease -- related to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The awareness platform of JLP-HD1 Porsche 935 twin turbo to be driven throughout the year at selected racing events [Ctrl-click to launch VIDEO]. Image Credit: Tom Stahler (2013)

Similar to Parkinson’s, Huntington’s effects the brain and motor skills.  John Paul Jr. would step out of the racing seat and begin a new race -- one to fight for quality of life and find a cure for the degenerative condition.

Dr William Yang, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at David Geffen School of Medicine, and head of the Yang Research Group at UCLA explained, “Huntington’s Disease is genetic and is present in 1/10,000 people.  if you have the gene, you have a fifty-fifty chance you will be effected.  The disease causes the degeneration of cells in certain areas of the brain leading to uncontrolled movements, loss of intellectual faculties and emotional disturbances.”

UCLA research Scientist Dyna Shirasaki has dedicated many hours and written many papers to finding the cause of the disease and reports, “We have isolated the gene and the protien that causes the disease.  We hope that though treatment of the cause that we will be able to develop treatments that will not only help with Huntington’s, but positively contribute to the treatment of Alheimer’s and Parkinson’s.”

Heads ... no longer in the game. Collectors and friends of the John Paul Jr. gathered in Van Nuys to raise awareness to Huntington’s disease. Image Credit: Tom Stahler (2013) 

Since HD is not as well-known as Alzheimer’s (AD) or Parkinson’s (PD), funding and research have lagged behind. However, while they are all different diseases, they share some pathological similarities. As a result, it is hoped that breakthroughs in the treatment of one disease may shed light on the others.

The JLP-HD1 that will promote John Paul Jr.’s cause is built on a chassis that attempted the 12 hours of Sebring six times, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona three times and the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen twice, but never finished on the podium.

While it may never achieve the collectability status of the cars John Paul Jr. previously drove, it hopefully will help underscore the reality that it is the people who made previous victories possible, and it will again be the people who make the difference in the battle against HD that lies ahead.  As for John Paul Jr., he continues to make history as he competes against the toughest opponent he has ever faced: Huntington’s disease.

The car will make its competitive debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring, March 13-17, and during the year will be driven by a host of celebrity drivers including Brian Redman, John Andretti, Elliot Forbes-Robinson and racer/instructor Jim Pace.

-- ENDS --

This life is finite with infinite paths that can be taken. John Paul Jr. stands as an example of always braking late, at keeping the peddle down, and making the most out of the road ahead, no matter where the path leads.

Please follow champion driver John Paul Jr. on this path creating awareness and a finding cure for Huntington's Disease at www.johnpauljrhd.com.

 ... notes from The EDJE