Sebastien Bourdais Hits Wall During Indianapolis 500 Qualifying

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Sebastien Bourdais was the fastest car in qualifying for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500, turning two laps that would have put the Frenchman on provisional pole until an incident on lap 3 ended his qualifying run.

Bourdais turned laps of 231.472 mph and 231.595 mph and was in Turn 2 when the back end of his car got loose. The No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing driver steered to correct the car’s pitch but the tires gripped, sending him into the wall nearly nose first, hitting with the right front corner of the car and flipping over before stopping upright on the back straightaway.

He was awake and alert when the medical crew arrived to the scene and was taken to the Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital.

“Bourdais was diagnosed with multiple fractures to his pelvis and a fracture to his right hip, and will undergo surgery in the evening,” per an INDYCAR release.