Bourdais savors spoils of Rolex 24 At Daytona class win

Sebastien Bourdais

Sebastien Bourdais spent a portion of Monday making room for yet another trophy, one of the perks of winning the GT Le Mans class the day before at the 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona endurance race.

Another portion of his day was spent looking forward to the Verizon IndyCar Series season, which begins March 12 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – in Bourdais' adopted hometown.

"It's great preparation for the INDYCAR season," said Bourdais, one of eight confirmed 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series drivers who competed in the annual sports car endurance race around Daytona International Speedway's 3.56-mile road course. "I got more than seven hours of driving in the rain. I don't think your senses can be more practiced than that in trying to gauge what's available and how you manage the tires."

Bourdais teamed with Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller – the same three who drove the Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT to victory last June at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – to repeat the class win over the weekend at Daytona. Bourdais now sets his sights on his fulltime ride in the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Other Verizon IndyCar Series regulars driving at Daytona were: Conor Daly of AJ Foyt Racing, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan of Chip Ganassi Racing, James Hinchcliffe from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay, Spencer Pigot from Ed Carpenter Racing and Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Not only does the Rolex 24 serve as mental preparation for the Verizon IndyCar Series season, it also helps drivers stay in shape and hone their skills.

"That's not the reason why I do it," said Bourdais. "I do it because I enjoy it. … It's tough to put a value on it, but for me it helps. The longer you stay inactive, the harder it is to get back up.

"It sure helps to get more seat time and keep your feelings sharp," he added. "At the end of the day, it's a race of touch and feel and sight. If you don't exercise those skills, they become a bit less sharp."