IndyCar: Sebastien Bourdais confirmed at Dale Coyne Racing for 2019

By Asher Fair | Jan 24, 2019

AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 06: Sebastien Bourdais, the driver of the #18 Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda IndyCar (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Sebastien Bourdais has been confirmed as the driver of the #18 Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan Honda for the 2019 IndyCar season.

Shortly before the 2018 IndyCar season came to an end, it was revealed that four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais would return to Dale Coyne Racing as the driver of the #18 Honda, which was fielded by a partnership between Dale Coyne Racing and Vasser Sullivan in the 2018 season, in the 2019 season.

Now it has been confirmed that Dale Coyne Racing and Vasser Sullivan are set to continue their partnership with one another as a result of a new multiyear agreement, and it has been confirmed that the 39-year-old Frenchman is set to return as the driver of the #18 Honda for the entirety of the 17-race 2019 season.

Bourdais is set to be the teammate to rookie Santino Ferrucci, who is set to drive the #19 Honda. The #19 Honda is set to be fielded by Dale Coyne Racing on their own.

Here is what Bourdais had to say about continuing to drive the #18 Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan Honda in the 2019 season, according to IndyCar.

"“I am very happy that Dale, Jimmy and Sulli are all moving forward together. The project Dale and I started in 2017 will continue to develop over the next two years with the support of a lot of people and great sponsors. As we are getting closer to the beginning of the season, I am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve over the next two.”"

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While Bourdais has driven for Dale Coyne Racing in three seasons over the course of his IndyCar career, the 2018 season, which was the first season during which the team had a partnership with Vasser Sullivan, was technically his first full season driving for the team.

Bourdais was the driver of the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in the road and street course races in the 2011 season. After driving for Dragon Racing in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, KV Racing Technology in the 2014 and 2015 seasons and KVSH Racing in the 2016 season, he returned to the team for the 2017 season.

However, as a result of the fact that he was severely injured during a qualifying crash for the Indianapolis 500, Bourdais only competed in eight of the 17 races on the 2017 schedule.

Not including his five highly successful seasons in Champ Car, which resulted in him winning 31 races and four championships, Bourdais’s most successful season in IndyCar to date has been his the 2018 season, his lone full season driving for Dale Coyne Racing.

Bourdais finished the 2018 season in a career-high seventh place in the championship standings with one victory, two podium finishes, five top five finishes, eight top 10 finishes and one pole position. He won the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida for the second consecutive season. His victory in this race in the 2017 season was his first and only other victory driving for Dale Coyne Racing. He has earned a total of six victories in his IndyCar career thus far.

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How will Sebastien Bourdais perform in the 2019 IndyCar season, which is set to be his second season driving the #18 Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan Honda? The season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, March 10 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. For full details about the 2019 schedule, click here.