Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Bourdais gets his groove back in Superleague Formula]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/08/bourdais-gets-his-groove-back-in-superleague-formula/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/08/bourdais-gets-his-groove-back-in-superleague-formula/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/08/bourdais-gets-his-groove-back-in-superleague-formula/#commentsFiled under: ,



Sebastien Bourdais may not have made a go of it in Formula One, but after winning the Champ Car World Series four years in a row and coming in second at Le Mans two years running, the Le Mans native clearly has plenty to offer. Between the lower formulas, touring cars, sports car racing and countless other forms of motorsport, there's probably more options for a failed F1 driver today than there ever has been before. So where did the French driver end up? Superleague Formula.

While we've seen this racing series around before, it's never really registered all that large on our radar screens. In a rather unusual cross-discipline sports initiative, the idea behind the Superleague Formula is to have teams representing the biggest soccer squads in Europe face off against each other on racing circuits using identical single-seater racers. Panoz DP09 chassis running 750-horsepower 4.2-liter V12s with six-speed sequential gearboxes and slick tires, to be precise. And while it may seem more like a publicity stunt than anything else, it has attracted a handful of former F1 drivers - including Robert Doornbos, Antônio Pizzonia and Giorgio Pantano - and has now snagged Bourdais.

The once promising French driver made his race debut this weekend for the Sevilla team at Estoril in neighboring Portugal, and won on his first time out. Not too shabby. Bourdais will, of course, be trying to find his way back into an F1 race seat, but in the meantime, football fans may want to hold him down for a while longer.

[Source: Superleague Formula]

Bourdais gets his groove back in Superleague Formula originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bourdaissebastien bourdaisSebastienBourdaissuperleague formulaSuperleagueFormulaTue, 08 Sep 2009 07:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Don't Text and Drive: Bourdais reportedly fired by Toro Rosso via SMS]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/17/dont-text-and-drive-bourdais-reportedly-fired-by-toro-rosso-vi/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/17/dont-text-and-drive-bourdais-reportedly-fired-by-toro-rosso-vi/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/17/dont-text-and-drive-bourdais-reportedly-fired-by-toro-rosso-vi/#commentsFiled under: ,



The rules of text messaging seem to keep on sliding to the point where what was once unacceptable is now common practice - but there's got to be a line drawn somewhere. Take Sebastien Bourdais, for example, who claims that he was fired via SMS.

The French racer, who dominated the Champ Car series in its final four years, didn't have as much luck in Formula One and was recently canned by Toro Rosso after failing to perform over the last two years. Bourdais sued Toro Rosso for breach of contract and reportedly settled out of court for remaining salary plus $2 million in damages, but he's not done lashing out at the team for how they handled his termination. According to Bourdais, he received the official kiss-off by a simple text message. Call us old-fashioned if you like, but we think that being fired warrants a face-to-face, or at least a phone call.

[Source: F1-Live | Image: Peter Fox/Getty]

Don't Text and Drive: Bourdais reportedly fired by Toro Rosso via SMS originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sour grapes much? Both of Italy's Formula One teams had to switch drivers mid-season during the year: Scuderia Toro Rosso (because Sebastien Bourdais wasn't working out) and Scuderia Ferrari (due to Felipe Massa injury). However, due to the comprehensive ban on in-season testing, neither could put their replacements into the cockpits of their F1 cars until the following grand prix weekend. So STR's newcomer Jaime Alguersuari was thrown straight into the deep end to sink or swim, while Ferrari, for its part, has been unable to give a returning Michael Schumacher any seat time in the new car. Not that the Maranello squad didn't try - their request for a one-time exemption was opposed by Williams, Red Bull and Toro Rosso. Now a message has appeared on the Ferrari website lashing out at the junior Toro Rosso team.

The statement calls out STR - which, it's worth noting, has used Ferrari customer engines for these past three seasons - as a "team that hasn't won anything for years and yet didn't pass over the opportunity to demonstrate once more a lack of spirit of fair play", while noting that Ferrari had given its consent for an exceptional test for Alguersuari. Ouch. (For the record, though, Toro Rosso won the Italian Grand Prix last year.) We would have to assume the message was somehow posted by a rogue with access to the Ferrari website, but that only begs the question as to why, several days later, it still hasn't been taken down. Follow the link to read the message in full on the Ferrari website.

[Source: Ferrari | Image: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty]

Statement on Ferrari website lashes out against Toro Rosso "indiscretion" originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Those who bemoan modern Formula One settling its rivalries in the courtroom instead of on the race track have another set of examples to bring up at the pub as news emerges of the settlement of two lawsuits related to the top-tier racing series have emerged over the course of the weekend.

In one case, Scuderia Toro Rosso and its dejected driver Sebastien Bourdais reportedly settled a dispute of the premature termination of the contract between the two parties. When the team fired Bourdais in favor of Jamie Alguersuari, Bourdais proclaimed that he was looking into legal recourse against the team. Reports now indicate that the two parties settled out of court, with STR reportedly paying Bourdais salary plus damages in the amount of $2.1 million. Speculation is rising that the French driver will return to racing in the U.S., where he racked up an unprecedented four consecutive Champ Car titles before his ill-fated move to Formula One.

Meanwhile, departing FIA president Max Mosley has reportedly settled his case against German newspaper Bild over the publication of his sordid sex scandal for which he sued the publisher for $2.35 million. According to reports, Mosley and Bild settled for $290,000 which will be distributed to two charities, as well as the publication of an interview to clear the record. The settlement follows the $100,000 in damages and $760,000 in legal fees awarded last year to Mosley from the News of the World, the British tabloid which originally broke the story.

[Sources: F1-Live and GrandPrix.com | Image: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty]

Max Mosley, Sebastien Bourdais settle individual lawsuits originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's official, Ladies and Gentlemen: Sebastien Bourdais' career in Formula One is finished. In his place will be the youngest driver ever to race in F1, Spanish pilot Jamie Alguersuari. Scuderia Toro Rosso, out from whose cockpit Bourdais has evidently climbed for the last time and which Alguersuari will now call home, says it's taking the opportunity to promote one of its top protégés and doesn't expect the young Spaniard to begin yielding results immediately - especially since he has barely had the opportunity to even test the car away from the limelight of a Grand Prix weekend. Leg-up opportunities aside, it can't be ignored that with Alguersuari comes sponsorship cash from two major companies backing their countryman's career: Oil giant Repsol and savings bank La Caixa.

Alguersuari will be driving alongside Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi, both of whom will be wringing out a significantly updated car at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix. Missing out on the new package only served to further irritate the departing Bourdais, who, far from taking the dismissal lying down, has announced that he's looking into legal repercussions for STR's premature termination of his contract. Meanwhile, veteran test driver and close confident Marc Géné says that the timing of Alguersuari's race debut could make his the most challenging in F1 history.

But Jamie and the Red Bull Junior development program that brought him up through the ranks aren't about to take it easy - while racing in F1 for Toro Rosso, Alguersuari will continue to compete in the Formula Renault 3.5 championship in which he was already racing, making his one heck of a learning curve. Official announcement in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Scuderia Toro Rosso | Image: Peter Fox/Getty]

Continue reading Officially Official: Toro Rosso confirms Alguersuari to replace Bourdais

Officially Official: Toro Rosso confirms Alguersuari to replace Bourdais originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Those pulling for Sebastien Bourdais will undoubtedly be disappointed by the latest reports emanating from the Formula One paddock. After winning the now-defunct Champ Car title four times in a row, the French driver switched to Formula One with Scuderia Toro Rosso last season, but while his team-mate Sebastian Vettel scored race wins, Bourdais never managed to do better than a couple of seventh-place finishes. Now, after his third early retirement this season at the German Grand Prix this past weekend, reports indicate that he's been given the axe.

Taking Bourdais' seat at STR for the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix will be Jamie Alguersuari, a Red Bull prodigy, recently promoted reserve/test driver for both Red Bull Racing and reigning champion in the British Formula 3 championship. Reports suggest that Alguersuari's promotion to the race seat serves as preparation for his full-time campaign next season and was fueled, so to speak, by a pending sponsorship deal with Spanish oil company Repsol, which supports Alguersuari's career. If the reports are confirmed and the 19-year-old racer starts the Hugarian GP for STR, he'll be the youngest ever to race in F1.

While the news undoubtedly comes as a disappointment for Bourdais and his fans, it surely disappoints another French multiple-champion as well. As rumors have escalated over the past few days about Bourdais' departure, five-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb publicly threw his hat into the ring to replace his countryman. Loeb previously tested an F1 car for sister team Red Bull Racing, and has long contemplated a switch of disciplines. But while Loeb's declaration infuriated Bourdais, but it looks like his move from WRC to F1 will have to wait a little longer.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Peter Fox/Getty]

Toro Rosso reportedly replaces Sebastien Bourdais with 19-year-old Jamie Alguersuari originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With fellow Red Bull protégé Scott Speed back in stock cars and the USF1 initiative still at least a year away, the closest Americans have to representation in Formula One is Sebastien Bourdais. Sure, he's French, but after dominating Champ Cars for several years on this side of the Atlantic we can almost claim him as our own. Having won four successive titles in Champ Cars, Bourdais had nothing left to prove in the United States and signed a European management contract with Nicolas Todt, who pulled some family connections and signed Bourdais to drive at Le Mans with Peugeot (whose racing department was run by his father Jean Todt before he moved to Ferrari) and then in Formula One with Scuderia Toro Rosso (whose engines are supplied by Ferrari).

After a disappointing debut season, Bourdais' future in F1 remained in doubt as his overshadowing team-mate Sebastian Vettel was called up to the Red Bull team and STR refused to confirm who would drive for them this coming season, but he's now been confirmed in the game of musical Sebastians to drive alongside newcomer Buemi. Bourdais, who was actually born in Le Mans, will have a lot on his hands to prove his mettle in F1 this season, but if that weren't enough, the French driver is stepping up his activities with Peugeot as well. Not only will he be driving the new 908 HDi at his famous home race, but he'll be making the trip back over to American shores to drive at Sebring as well. We'll look forward to watching our Franco-American homeboy take 'em all on this season.

Racing Home: Bourdais returns to F1 with Toro Rosso, Le Mans & Sebring with Peugeot originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The drivers after receiving traditional didgeridoos in Australia

Fans of open-wheel racing awaiting the results of today's season-finale Brazilian Grand Prix had something to keep them busy in the meantime, as the results of the Champ Car race Down Under came in with this season's champion one race early.

If you didn't tape the race to watch later, click through to the SPOILER ALERT to find out who won and who's champion this year in Champ Cars.

[Source: Autosport.com]

Continue reading Champ Car champ and rookie crowned Down Under

Champ Car champ and rookie crowned Down Under originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's a sad state of affairs when the pure talent of a racing driver isn't enough to advance his career. In the case of Sebastien Bourdais, the top teams on the F1 grid have apparently been blind to his domination in Champ Cars, as our favorite Frenchman (okay, second favorite, after Talladega Nights arch-villain Jean Girard) looks like he's headed for his fourth consecutive title in the open-wheel series.

Enter Nicholas Todt, who is out to change Bourdais' fortunes and secure him a drive for the 2008 Formula One season. The fellow Frenchman did wonders for Felipe Massa, who started out at Sauber (then powered by Ferrari), then took a test seat at Ferrari (where Nick's dad Jean is king), before moving him back to Sauber (still with Ferrari engines) to race for another season, before taking the race seat at Ferrari alongside Schumacher. Now Massa is a contender for the title.

Nicholas Todt has now signed on to manage Bourdais' racing activities in Europe. In between ChampCar races, Bourdais is driving at Le Mans for Peugeot, and has been testing for Scuderia Toro Rosso. Todt has reportedly arranged for the talented 28-year-old driver to test again for the STR, which uses engines supplied by (you guessed it) Ferrari, and the rumors are that they might have secured a race seat with the squad for next season.

Could Bourdais prove to be the next star "rookie" in F1? Time will tell, we hope, but this proven entity is no rookie. Shame he'll have to start from the back of the grid, but his apparent willingness to do so only confirms his determination.

Related post:
F1 is missing out on Sebastein Bourdais

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

Report: Toro Rosso gives Bourdais wings! originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's been almost four years since the Champ Car series has raced in Europe, but organizers are planning on bringing it back. 2003 was the last season the declining American open-wheel series raced in Europe, when French ace Sebastien Bourdais - now three-time Champ champ - won both the races at Brands Hatch in England and the Lausitzring EuroSpeedway in Germany.

The latest reports suggest that the 2007 season will include two new races in Europe, though not at the same venues as previous seasons. On September 2, Champ Cars will be racing around Holland's Assen circuit, a former road track that has since been developed into a full facility. A week later, the second European race will be competing with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza when Champ Cars race at Zolder, once the site of the Belgian Grand Prix.

The two new European venues bring the Champ Car calendar up to a very full 17 races around the world, joined by events in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and China. By comparison, the competing IndyCar series also has seventeen races scheduled for 2007, though the Motegi race in Japan stands alone as the IRL's only race abroad. If you were a driver aiming to climb up the ladder to Formula One, which would you choose?

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

Champ Cars return to Europe originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Jan 2007 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2007assenbelgianbelgiumbourdaiscarschampdutcheuropegrandhollandprixschedulesebastienzolderWed, 17 Jan 2007 15:57:00 EST<![CDATA[French Connection: Villeneuve to drive Peugeot 908 at Le Mans]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/14/french-connection-villeneuve-to-drive-peugeot-908-at-le-mans/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/14/french-connection-villeneuve-to-drive-peugeot-908-at-le-mans/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/14/french-connection-villeneuve-to-drive-peugeot-908-at-le-mans/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Having unveiled the 908 LM racing car at the Paris show this past September, Peugeot is gearing up to race their new car in the European Le Mans Series. The French company is serious about competing at Le Mans and in the entire series, and they've signed on some key drivers to get them to victory lane.

The biggest name is none other than Jacques Villeneuve. For those coming late to the game, the French Canadian driver recently left Formula One and is trying to make his way into NASCAR. With his efforts looking less-than-likely to materialize for the 2007 season, Jacques is joining the Peugeot racing program in a bid to become the first driver ever to have won the F1 championship, the Champ Car title, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As if his CV wasn't full enough as it is...but unfortunately, despite the enormous success of his early career, subsequent seasons in F1 were less than spectacular, to put it mildly.

Joining Villeneuve behind the wheel of the 908 are Nicolas Manassian, Stephane Sarrazin, Pedro Lamy, Marc Gene (of Ferrari test-driving fame) and three-time Champ Car champ Sebastien Bourdais. Eric Helary, who won Le Mans for Peugeot in 1993, joins the new team as a test and back-up driver.

The Peugeot 908 follows the smashing success of the Audi R10 diesel racing car with an all-aluminum twelve-cylinder common-rail direct-injection twin-turbo diesel with the latest advanced particulate filter system. Between the green power, the big-name drivers and the return of the French carmaker to the series, there are a lot of reasons to keep an eye on Peugeot this season, kicking off at Monza on April 14.

[Source: Peugeot]

French Connection: Villeneuve to drive Peugeot 908 at Le Mans originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Jan 2007 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The world of motorsports was watching when Sebastien Bourdais got back behind the wheel of an F1 car on Thursday at the Jerez test track, and managed to get within spitting distance of Scott Speed's lap times in the same Red Bull car.

The reigning champ of Champ Cars, Sebastien Bourdais is an irrefutably talented driver. He's got three Champ Car titles under his belt, along with the Formula 3000 championship from 2002 and the French Formula 3 title from 1999. Bourdais is a winner, plain and simple. But despite its stature as the pinnacle of motorsports, supposedly flaunting the best drivers in racing, Formula One has been missing out on Bourdais.

Thursday's test was not the French driver's first time behind the wheel of an F1 car. In 2002 he tested for Arrows and for Renault. Arrows didn't pan out, and Renault missed the opportunity when Flavio Briatore insisted that Bourdais sign an additional personal management contract with him if he wanted to join the team. More recently BMW failed to snatch him up as well.

As a French driver who made his name in American racing, Bourdais could bring with him audiences from both countries; convenient for F1, since it's has been lagging in popularity in both France and the US. Several leading teams (McLaren and Renault, we're looking at you) have delved straight into the feeder series to fill race seats for next season, while Bourdais returns to dominate in Champ Cars for yet another season. F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, being the shrewd operator he is, could do worse than to recognize the talent they're missing out on and make some suggestions to team principals lest a talent like Bourdais go to waste in a dying series.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

F1 is missing out on Sebastein Bourdais originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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