Sebastien Bourdais looking to reclaim past Long Beach form - MotorSportsTalk

Sebastian Bourdais gets another chance to become the King of Long Beach this weekend, as he looks to recover from a 13th-place showing in the Verizon IndyCar Series’ season opener two weekends ago.

In the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Bourdais was forced to get a new nose early in the event after contact and was penalized later on for not packing up.

“St. Petersburg was a valiant effort by the whole team and to finish where we started is very frustrating,” Bourdais said in a pre-race release. “The only positives that came out of the race are that we keep fighting back and I had a rocket ship for a car, so I know our time will come.”

Naturally, the Frenchman hopes for a smoother weekend by the Pacific Ocean, where he’s had some of his greatest success in North American open-wheel racing. Bourdais won three straight Champ Car races at Long Beach from 2005-2007.

Recent years there have been tough, however, with a DNF in 2011, and finishes of 17th and 15th in 2012 and 2013 respectively. But his respect for the event has not waned.

“Long Beach is a great event,” Bourdais said. “It is next to the Indy 500, the premier event on our schedule. The atmosphere at the race is always unbelievable and the circuit is a challenge. There are different corners and different surfaces that you have to contend with, so getting the right setup is crucial. Because it is a street circuit, qualifying is extremely important.

“I had some success at Long Beach when I raced in Champ Cars. The last few years have been more difficult, but based on how good the KVSH Racing car was in St. Petersburg, I am looking forward to debuting the Mistic machine this weekend in Long Beach.”

You can see how Bourdais fares this weekend with Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach qualifying on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET, and then the main event on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra.

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Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”