Bourdais Says Doornbos Allowed Little Room With Stakes At Their Highest

MONT-TREMBLANT, Quebec — Is Sebastien Bourdais a whiner, or a racer often done wrong who speaks his mind about it?
The 28-year-old Frenchman tried to explain himself after his criticism of winner Robert Doornbos drew loud and hearty boos from what should have been a partisan Quebecois crowd.
“If you say things and don’t say why, you are a whiner,” Bourdais remarked after finishing second by 2.889 seconds in Sunday’s Champ Car World Series race at the mountainous Quebec road course. “I did congratulate him and told him he probably would have won the race anyway because he had a faster car at the end. All I did is ask him to behave the same way as the others do.
“He knows exactly what he has done, and I know what he has done,” Bourdais added. “I still have the right to say what I think and feel. I’m a race-car driver. If I get run into the grass at 250 kilometers per hour, I think I have a right to complain.”
The three-time Champ Car World Series champion claimed that Doornbos twice forced him off the track at high speed, in addition to an incident in the pits.
“Into turn eight, then two laps later into turn 10 while I was on the push to pass. If race control didn’t see it, that happens,” Bourdais said. “But when you’re in sixth or seventh gear and someone tries to run you into the grass, it’s not safe.”
Doornbos replied that he was not in the wrong, and if he had been, he would have been penalized.
“I fully think I deserve the victory,” the Dutchman said. “I know the rules in the U.S. are different. I respect the rules in the U.S., and I paid the price last weekend in Cleveland. I made a mistake and got off line, and the race director penalized me and destroyed my race. We were lucky to come back and finish second.”
Prior to the post-race press conference, Bourdais engaged Doornbos in a discussion about their on-track confrontations, but the rookie refused to back down to the three-time series champion.
That seemed to upset Bourdais even more, and when he saw a longtime Champ Car journalist shake his head in disgust at his remarks, he went on the offensive.
“Is it too much to ask a guy to hold his line so you can pass him?” Bourdais wondered. “It’s too bad. What can I say? I just say things the way I feel they are. I’m just being honest. This is a sport, and there are rules we are all supposed to follow. That’s it.
“We’re supposed to all play by the same rules, and it shouldn’t have unfolded the way it did. Apparently being honest doesn’t serve you right, but I have always been like that. I’m not going to lie to you guys.”