Sébastien Bourdais: "It was hard getting out of there. All the air space was closed because of the storms (Bourdais was in Fort Worth, Texas for an IndyCar race, shortened due to inclement weather, editor's note). I had to make a long detour west upon leaving Texas. All the airlines were booked. We (with his teammate Scott Dixon, editor's note) could have arrived tomorrow, but here I am. It was a bit of a mess, but I'm happy to be here."

In all 10 of his participations, Bourdais was entered with French teams. So this participation with Ford is unique! Living in the U.S. and having largely created his record across the Atlantic, does he think there is an American way to take on the 24 Hours of Le Mans? "No, not really. To be with Ford at Le Mans is different. For me, as a Le Mans native, Ford's history with this race is significant, so to play a part is lucky. I think all teams have a different way of doing things. Ford is not just an American team, there are several entities. There is a big part of the team that is British, another Canadian. We are a team comprised of many experienced people, who know what they're doing, and who are used to winning (namely in IndyCar or NASCAR, editor's note)! I hope that will be possible at the 24 Hours of Le Mans."

The U.S. launched the Ford GT program. Before the Silverstone and WEC Spa-Francorchamps races in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), it was at Daytona and Sebring, then at Laguna Seca, that the Fords came into their own. "That was crucial! Had we arrived at Le Mans only having done two races, it wouldn't have been good. The Rolex 24 at Daytona, for a first race, was complicated. We had a lot of glitches, especially with things that had never posed a problem before. It was a bit frustrating because the team had prepared well! We had the cars to play to win and those problems ruined our chances. At Sebring, the rain surprised us and we hydroplaned. I hope we've paid our dues and everything will go well here."

During the last participations, the Le Mans native was entered in prototypes. With the Ford, he will have to adapt, right? "I will have to change marks, namely in the entire section of the Porsche curves. If I arrive as fast as in an LM P1, it won't go well. The advantage is the Ford GT acts like a prototype. It has less power, less aerodynamics, but in terms of design, it's more like a prototype. It has a very low center of gravity, with a carbon shell, so it's rigid. It's not a classic GT that moves a great deal." 

Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

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