Q&A with KVSH Racing

Team leader Sebastien Bourdais

KVSH Racing
Sebastien Bourdais
Stefan Wilson
Matthew Brabham

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 TEAM HYDROXYCUT CHEVROLET, KVSH RACING (qualified 19th):

IT’S BEEN SAID THAT CARS WITH DOME SKIDS ARE A LITTLE HARDER TO HANDLE, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT AND HAVE YOU HAD THOSE ISSUES? “It’s not designed to make the cars easier or worse to drive. They are there to keep the cars from flying so I am not sure why we are talking about it. But to be quite honest it pisses me off because that has been the lead-up to the event and the greatest race that we have had in 100 years. It’s a shame. It’s sad. To me it’s who gives a damn about the dome skids. They don’t even need to know about it. The car is the way it is, we are going to put on a great show, and that is all people need to know about it. Honestly I am pissed at the media in general for making a mess of it and for some drivers to make such a big deal about it."

DO YOU SEE THIS RACE BEING MORE COMPETITIVE WHERE THE BIG TEAMS WILL BE CHALLENGED BY THE SMALLER TEAMS? “Not really. There is no equalizing. Obviously the Penskes and the Ganassis on the Chevy side (are strong) and then you see Josef pulling something out of nowhere, and I am not sure anyone understands it because even Ed doesn’t get it. We qualified with the exact same aero configuration that Josef had, not by choice but just ended up on the track with the same stuff. And he is four miles an hour quicker on lap one with massive drop off. And we have a car that has good balance and stays together and puts down four identical laps. So I have no explanation for it and I don’t think anybody does. But at the end of the day we don’t have a program that allows us right now to compete where we would like to be. I think we can be somewhat of a fighter and we don’t have any regrets in being aggressive to take the fight to those guys. The car is better than last year in race trim but the cars are clearly harder to drive."

SOME DRIVERS SAY THAT INDIANAPOLIS IS ONE OF THE HARDEST AND TRICKIEST TRACKS TO DRIVE. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT? “I wouldn’t say it’s the hardest by any means. I think it’s one of the easier ovals. Obviously, it is not easy to win or easy to master but when you come to this place with a decent car it’s not the hardest track by a long shot in my mind. I would say Texas or Fontana are harder. If you run a lap at the bottom of the track at Fontana it is a heck of a bigger challenge than this because of the seams and everything. Iowa is really hard because you have bumps and it’s pretty eye-opening at the beginning. But at this track, when you start slowing things down and you get the speed factor reduced in your mind… as long as the car is good, it’s not that hard."

STEFAN WILSON, NO. 25 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES CHEVROLET, KV RACING TECHNOLOGY (qualified 30th; Indy 500 rookie):

WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON HERE HAS IT BEEN MUCH MORE OF A BURDEN OR HARDER TO CONCENTRATE? “Yes, I mean obviously there is a lot more track time than I imagined. I always knew what a practice schedule was like but when you get into it and it’s you that is driving then suddenly it seems like your whole week is spent here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Even the drivers that have houses 10 or 15 minutes away stay in motor coaches here at the track. You see why it makes sense now. The other thing is the obligations off-track that go with it, it’s incredible with how busy your schedule gets. But I am really enjoying it and it’s a great honor to be a part of it.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]The only thing missing is being able to get advice from Justin. I always imagined him being here when I turned my first laps and being able to go to him and ask him you know, ‘What is this about?’ or ‘What should I feel here, or what does this feel like?’. I would love to get his answers and his lessons that I could learn off of. I am just trying to think back to all of those years that I followed him here and spent time with him here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and when he was on track. I have been just trying to think back through all of it pick out little bits of stuff that might help me."

DID HE TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE TRACK ANY? “I was always here when he ran and I was basically his shadow and annoying him probably. I was asking him a bunch of questions you know. I think back to those days and all the stuff that he told me and like I said there is a memory bank in there of all the stuff that he said to me, and I am just trying to pick out bits that will help me."

WHEN YOU ARE ON THE GRID AND GETTING READY TO GO ON SUNDAY, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU MIGHT BE THINKING? “I am going to be ‘Oh (expletive), this is real!’ (laughs) Oh yes, this is going to be quite a bit daunting. It’s a huge challenge because you have to go 500 miles which is the longest race I have ever done in my career. So just trying to face that, there are so many unknowns that I am trying to balance for. I just want to get to the grid early, get in the car early so that I can absorb it all and be prepared."

Matt Brabham

MATTHEW BRABHAM, NO. 61 PIRTEK TEAM MURRAY CHEVROLET, PIRTEK TEAM MURRAY (qualified 27th; Indy 500 rookie):

TALK ABOUT THE BRABHAM LEGACY AND CARRYING IT ON HERE. YOUR GRANDFATHER WOULD BE DANCING RIGHT NOW. “Yeah, absolutely. He would have a massive smile on his face, bigger than mine over the last month. All he wanted to talk about was racing growing up as a kid and that was the one thing that put a sparkle in his eye when he was talking about me and my racing and their racing. Obviously he passed away two years ago in the month of May and I know he is looking down on me this year with a big smile on his face and he would be very proud – just like everyone else is in my family. My dad, my uncle, they are all very proud. To me it’s a great honor to be a part of all that and it’s very special."

DO YOU ANTICIPATE THERE BEING A WOW FACTOR FOR YOU ON SUNDAY AT SOME POINT? “Every rookie is told by all the veterans that you have to try and block it out as much as you can. But I am sure as soon as I walk out the green room and onto the grid, that is going to be the wow moment especially when I see the crowd. The other one that everyone talks about is the first lap heading into Turn One when all the sudden it seems way narrower than it has the rest of the month because it’s filled with people and the crowd. So I am looking forward to it, and I know it’s going to be great fun. My dad has told me many stories and my grandfather has too. I can’t wait to experience it for myself."

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? “The race and just racing with those guys. I don’t really care about all the hype and everything. It’s really great to have that and it’s what makes this race so special and motivates everyone, but really the true thing I am looking for is just getting out there on the track and dicing it up with the legends out there. There are some people who have won the race many times. Helio, Tony has won it, and all those guys that I have watched the last couple of years… to go out on the track and race against them, that is what is most exciting for me."