Sebastien Bourdais recovery ahead of schedule: 'Let's get back to work'

Jim Ayello | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption When IndyCar drivers crash, this is the response Their quick response can make all the difference in the case of a crash like the one Sebastien Bourdais went through at IMS.

INDIANAPOLIS – The day after the most horrific wreck of Sebastien Bourdais’ career, he made one thing clear to team owner Dale Coyne:

I want to race the season finale at Sonoma.

Bourdais was adamant that his terrifying crash during Indianapolis 500 qualifying wouldn’t keep him out of his car the rest of the season.

Despite surviving one of the most violent crashes in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history — Bourdais hit an IMS SAFER barrier at 227 mph — he was eager to climb back into his car.

Good, Coyne said at the time. But let’s not be unreasonable.

“Sonoma is just one race at the end of the season. You get four more months to heal if you don’t do Sonoma,” Coyne told the four-time series champion, who was lying in a hospital bed, just out of surgery. “But we’ll have you back ready for next year, and we can go at it then.”

Next year, huh? That’s not going to work, Bourdais thought. In fact, now five weeks into rehabbing his broken broken hip and pelvis, Bourdais wants to move up the timeline.

“I’m thinking even maybe Watkins Glen,” Bourdais said of the Sept. 3 race, two weeks ahead of the finale at Sonoma. “I’m not trying to be hard-headed about it. I don’t want to make bad decisions or keep from improving my chances in the future, but if I’m ready, then I’ll get back into the car.”

As of Tuesday, Bourdais admits he’s far from ready. In a phone call from Florida updating IndyStar on his progress toward returning to his seat, Bourdais says there’s nothing to report other than the monotony of his new daily rehab routine.

He’s hoping to be able to put partial weight on his surgically repaired body soon, but he’s probably about a week away from doing so. Then, it will be about another two weeks before he can walk. After that? Who knows. Maybe Watkins Glen. Bourdais said Coyne knows of his desire to get back as soon as possible and is willing to comply given a clean bill of health from doctors.

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At first, the idea of Bourdais climbing rejoining the series this season does seem a bit wreckless.

Why would he want to expose himself to another accident when he might be less than 100 percent physically — or mentally — in a season with nothing at stake?

That’s flawed thinking, Bourdais said. There’s so much at stake. No, not a championship. That dream, though very real before his crash, is dead. But it’s not too early to begin dreaming on the possibilities of next season. And to do that, he needs to drive an Indy car this season. He needs to mix it up with other drivers and know that he’s OK. But what he needs most of all is to put the crash behind him this year so that next year is a clean start.

“It’s very important for me, for the team, for the future. I felt like we were starting to build something pretty special,” said Bourdais, who upon being reunited with renowned engineers Craig Hampson and Olivier Boisson, won the season-opener at St. Petersburg and was seventh in the championship before his crash. “I think it’s quite important to make sure there is no discontinuity. … We’re going to kickstart the 2018 season and just do our thing. Instead of, not that I’m second-guessing myself, but in racing you always have to prove yourself. And for me, I don’t want to enter ‘18 with questions. I want to go in ‘18 with everyone feeling comfortable and everybody around me knowing that we will pick up where we left off. ... I just want to put this behind me. I screwed up, let’s move on. Let’s get back to work.”

To his credit, Bourdais already has been hard at work. While rehabbing takes up most of his time in the mornings, he is a distant, but still helpful mentor to his teammate Ed Jones and to his replacement in the No. 18 DCR car, Esteban Gutiérrez.

Bourdais says playing mentor is a tough balancing act to strike. He wants to be helpful but not overbearing. Gutierrez said he’s doing just fine.

“Sebastien is always there involved kind of following all the meetings, following the practice sessions, the qualifyings,” Gutiérrez said. “Yeah, it is great to be in touch. Sebastien is a great driver. I’ve been following him (for a long time).”

What makes playing mentor even more difficult is doing so from hundreds of miles away. Bourdais emails information to his teammates about the tracks they’re about to drive, but he’s anxious to be able to start imparting some knowledge in person. The date circled on his calendar for that is July 16 in Toronto.

Until then, it's more rehab — with a keen eye on another date: Sept. 3 at Watkins Glen.

“We’ll see how that goes,” Bourdais said. “I haven’t heard anybody tell me I was delusional or it was never going to happen, so that’s what I’m aiming for.”

Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter and Instagram: @jimayello.