Sebastien Bourdais was in Indianapolis on Tuesday and for good reason - not even three months after his devastating accident in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, he received medical clearance that he is cleared to return to racing action.
Bourdais posted late Tuesday night he’d had his final appointment with his doctor and has been cleared to return to action. He’d targeted mid-August as the date to get this clearance, and this lives up to that target. He sustained pelvic and hip fractures in the accident in qualifying.
Some of you might wonder why I was in Indy today... Well, I had the final appointment with Doc and guess what? All clear, let's go racing!
— Sébastien Bourdais (@BourdaisOnTrack) August 16, 2017
The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT team welcomed Bourdais back to the Indianapolis shop on Woodland Drive on Tuesday, in anticipation for what would be Bourdais’ return to sports car competition at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale, Motul Petit Le Mans, Oct. 5-7.
Great to have @BourdaisOnTrack back in the @CGRTeams shop with the #FordGT crew! #TeamGanassi #FordIMSA pic.twitter.com/RlieOEAYXc
— CGR SportsCar (@CGRsportscar) August 15, 2017
As for his day job, back in the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, the team is yet to reveal when Bourdais will be back racing. Bourdais has set Watkins Glen as a target on Labor Day weekend, following the next two races on ovals at Pocono Raceway (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, NBCSN) and Gateway Motorsports Park.
This is great news!! And to answer your questions, we don't have confirmation yet as to his official return in the car. https://t.co/qxwhJsE3bx
— Dale Coyne Racing (@DaleCoyneRacing) August 16, 2017
Provided the Coyne team can get through these two oval races cleanly with the rookie pair of Esteban Gutierrez and Ed Jones, that would increase the likelihood of a Bourdais return at Watkins Glen.
Bourdais tested at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course the Monday after that race, which was a huge step towards his formal comeback. He spoke to NBCSN contributor Robin Miller during the Honda Indy 200 race telecast.