IZOD INDYCAR SERIES
CHEVROLET INDY DUAL IN DETROIT
RACEWAY ON BELLE ISLE – DETROIT
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 31, 2013
CHEVROLET INDYCAR V6 DRIVERS SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, MARCO ANDRETTI AND RYAN BRISCOE met with members of the media at the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit. Partial transcript:
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 7 MCAFEE DRAGON RACING CHEVROLET: ON HIS SEASON TO-DATE: “I don’t think it is true to say we are struggling to be in top-10. Last year we were Fast Six material week-in and week-out by the time we got the Chevy on board. Thanks to their help, we were very strong contenders by the end of the season. That’s the only reason why it is frustrating right now is because we finished the season feeling very strong about our potential for this year, and so far it hasn’t been right. It is very clear that the 2013 tire is a new deal, and we just haven’t been able to adapt to it, because as soon as we got the 2012 tire back on it in Brazil, then the car is P3 in first practice, and we missed the Fast Six by three-hundreths or three-thousandths, or something like that. It is just up to us to figure it out. We are going to keep on trying a couple of things this weekend. We have still a few more things in mind. Hopefully we get it right and get a good second part of the season.”
HOW ARE PREPARING PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY FOR THE FIRST DOUBLEHEADER OF THE SEASON HERE AT DETROIT? “Well, I am carrying right now a nice cold…that’s great (SMILES). Mentally, all that matters to us right now is to get the car figured out and get the balance. We’ve been fighting the understeer since the beginning of the season on the new tires, the street course tire, and that really has been tough. We’ve tried a lot of things. I’m not focused on the race as much as I am trying to get the car right because I know if we get the car right, we’ll be okay. I have no reservations of any sort. Once we get the balance right, the lap times will come, and then we will be back in the grove. I’m not a wizard. I need the car under me, and so far we just haven’t been able to do that. I’m optimistic because I think the car hasn’t been far off. It is just the density of the field right now. Like in Long Beach, we were 15th, four-tenths off in practice three. So, if we can just get the balance right…it doesn’t take a whole lot to just get there. If you miss it by just a little bit these days, you are just nowhere, that’s the biggest difference from year’s past.”
MARCO ANDRETTI, NO. 25 RC COLA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET: ON THE IMPROVEMENTS TO HIS STREET CIRCUIT PROGRAM THIS SEASON: “It has nothing to do with how hard I worked, it was just knowing where to work, really. So far I think it has worked, but it is early in the season. But, I definitely am closer than where I was last year on the streets. I think we can win races with where I am at right now; I just want to qualifying a bit better than seventh just to make my life a bit easier.”
WAS THE BACK AND FORTH WITH ED (CARPENTER) AND TONY (KANAAN) AS MUCH FUN IN THE CAR AS IT WAS FOR THE PEOPLE WATCHING THE RACE? “Yes, but from that standpoint, it was a bit frustrating. Because as a driver, you should want to lead the race. None of us wanted to lead the race because we were just dragging everybody else and they could conserve fuel behind us. I think in hindsight, I should have grabbed the point for most laps led. There was point in the race were the guy in fourth could lead the next lap if he wanted to.”
RYAN BRISCOE, NO. 4 NATIONAL GUARD PANTHER RACING CHEVROLET: RYAN, IT WAS ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY THAT YOU WOULD PILOT THE NATIONAL GUARD CHEVY HERE AT DETROIT. LAST WEEK YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO RUN THE INDY 500 WITH GANASSI AND NOW YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED TO ACTION HERE WITH PANTHER RACING. TALK A LITTLE ABOUT HOW THIS CAME ABOUT AND THE OPPORTUNITY WITH PANTHER.
“Yes, it was a surprise for sure. Certainly it wasn’t planned but John Barnes gave me a call on Tuesday morning and asked what my availability looked like and he said there was potential for something happening this weekend so we just got talking from there. And here we are. So its been a whirlwind for sure but the team has done an amazing job in getting the car turned around and getting me fitted and ready to go today. I was feeling nervous, but I am feeling good now that I am here.”
COMING HERE FOR A RACE YOU WEREN’T EXPECTING TO RUN AND FOLLOWING INDY, HOW ARE YOU PREPARING FOR THIS MENTALLY? “Well, I wasn’t preparing for it at all (laughs). But I think even though you can’t compare Indianapolis to Detroit, I did just spend the whole last month in an IndyCar. So I feel like I am comfortable in the cockpit and I have been doing plenty of racing this year so I feel like I am sharp and ready to go. Baltimore feels like yesterday which is the last time I was in one of these on a road course. So I am feeling good, feeling fit, and obviously it’s a great opportunity being a double header this weekend. Its more mileage, two races and two chances to get up front and do a good job so I feel it’s the perfect weekend for me to come back and give it a shot.”
WHAT IS YOUR COMMITMENT WITH LEVEL FIVE AND HOW DOES THAT COME INTO PLAY WITH MORE RACES WITH PANTHER? “My commitment is full time with Level Five, including Le Mans. So any IndyCar races that I will be doing for the rest of the year will have to work around my commitment with those guys.”
WITH YOUR COMMITMENT TO SPORTS CARS AND V8 SUPERCARS AT THE END OF THE YEAR, CAN YOU FINISH OUT THE REST OF THE INDYCAR SERIES? “There will be a few conflicts so it won’t be every single race but I hope to add more races to the rest of the year. We don’t have anything down at the moment but I do hope that I will be competing in more IndyCar races this year.”
PANTHER HAS SHOWN INTEREST IN YOU IN THE PAST WITH YOUR UNCERTAIN CONTRACT STATUS WITH TEAM PENSKE AND EVEN CONSIDERED THE IDEA OF A SECOND CAR WITH YOU. BUT DO YOU FEEL IF IT HADN’T BEEN FOR CHIP (GANASSI) GETTING YOU INTO THE INDY 500 THAT THE OPPORTUNITY MIGHT NOT HAVE OPENED UP FOR YOU TO BE HERE NOW? “On the contrary, I feel that if Chip didn’t come along then I might have been in the 500 with Panther. So who knows and as I said going into Indy that when you start the year off without a full time ride, you never know what is around the corner. Its no point in trying to guess what if, this or that. You can’t go about this business having regrets or whatever. You just have to try to make the best decisions you can, each and every day and move forward as well as you can. I think this is a great opportunity for me and it’s a great team and I have a lot of faith in John Barnes and his team and I think this is a great thing for me.”
RYAN, OBVIOUSLY YOU DROVE A CHEVY WITH TEAM PENSKE LAST YEAR AND A HONDA FOR THE MONTH OF MAY AND NOW BACK TO A CHEVY. WHERE DO YOU THINK THERE ARE GOING TO BE ANY DIFFERENCES OR WHAT DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO BEING IN A CHEVY THIS WEEKEND? “No, it’s good and I have been talking to the Chevy guys and it sounds like they have certainly continued their development over the offseason since I last drove. So I am looking forward to getting out there and feeling those improvements. So I think its good and I am looking forward to feeling it out.
