Bourdais upbeat about recovery from Indy 500 qualifying injuries - MotorSportsTalk

Sebastien Bourdais returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, just over one week following a savage crash in qualifying that saw him suffer multiple fractures to his pelvis and a fracture to his right hip.

In a press conference with members of the media, Bourdais expressed confidence about his recovery. “I’m doing good enough to be here. So that’s great!” he quipped. “It’s great to be out of the hospital environment. I’ve never really faced that before. It’s great to feel normal right now and to be able to walk around and see some familiar faces and see a lot of friends.”

Bourdais explained that his rehab process is still in its early stages, and that a lot of it is down to pain management. But, he does hope to be racing again before the season ends.

“It’s just going to be a long process. I can’t put any weight on my right leg for another five weeks. So it’s just going to be a game of patience and trying to make sure I’m ready when it matters. I’m shooting for the end of the season in Sonoma,” he explained.

Returning to the race track, particularly for Sunday’s 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, was also a critical aspect of rehabilitation, especially when it comes to overcoming mental and emotional hurdles. “For me, it’s just important to make sure that I stay in good spirits. Physically I’m doing well, and I have no intention to let this incident stop my career or anything,” he asserted.

The crash itself was one of the most frightening anyone has seen in quite some time, as he impacted the wall at a 45 degree angle while still traveling at well over 200 mph. And while safety is a constantly moving target, Bourdais was very complimentary of the current Dallara DW12 chassis, which prevented the injuries from being much more serious.

“The car did a really good job head-on,” he explained. “I don’t have any injuries on my feet or anything like that. But if we could avoid pelvis and hip fractures like that, that would be great. But I don’t think there are a lot of people who can say they have survived a head-on crash at 227. I don’t know that everybody knows, but I was still full throttle when I hit the wall. It’s a pretty good testament.”

In terms of the team’s future, owner Dale Coyne detailed that he has been in contact with several drivers about next week’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader, but no decision has been made. “We’ve probably had 25 drivers contact (us) for Detroit and on. Some usual names, and ones you may be surprised at. We’ll make that decision Monday or Tuesday,” Coyne said of the team’s future.

Bourdais, meanwhile, is anxious to get back as soon as he can, as he believes Dale Coyne Racing is building something special. “We’re building something at Dale Coyne Racing thanks to Dale and Gail and all the engineers and everybody who is hard at work, the mechanics and all. I think we have a great launching pad for the future, and I want to be part of that. That’s why I want to come back as soon as possible.”

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Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.

Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.

On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.

One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.

After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.

The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.

“It was good racing; it was fun,” Deegan said at about the 27-minute mark in the video above. “I just had some fun doing it.”

Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.

Lawrence defends Deegan — *Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports*

“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.

“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”

As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.

But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.

“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.

“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”

Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.

“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.

“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”

The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.

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