Sebastien Bourdais was awake and alert and never lost consciousness after recording one of the hardest crashes seen in quite some time at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Frenchman was on pace to set the fastest speed in the field by a considerable margin when his No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda began to spin entering Turn 2.
The four-time Champ Car champion attempted to catch the slide and had initial luck, but the worst case scenario happened when the car regained rear grip while pointing toward the Turn 2 exit wall. Frighteningly close to a head-on impact, Bourdais flattened the nose of the Dallara DW12 before the right side of the car followed into the wall, and next, a slow barrel with the nose against the wall saw Bourdais sliding sideways and upside down along the back straight.
The rotation continued until he rested on all four wheels and coasted to a stop.
Considerable time was taken to attend to Bourdais in the car before he was extricated and taken to Methodist Hospital. No updates on Bourdais' physical condition have yet been provided.
Prior to his crash, laps of 231.4 and 231.5mph cleared Scott Dixon's average of 230.3mph, and the No. 18 DCR Honda was the only car to eclipse the 231mph barrier.
RACER will provide updates as soon as they are received.
