Dale Coyne Racing Top 11 Finish at Honda Indy Toronto

The ENEOS-sponsored Dale Coyne Racing had both entries finish in the Top 11 at Honda Indy Toronto. Sebastien Bourdais crossed the finish line in eighth in the #18 Mouser Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan entry, and Santino Ferrucci secured 11th in the #19 Cly-Del Manufacturing Dale Coyne Racing Honda.

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS

At the 85-lap, 1.786-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit of Honda Indy Toronto, Sebastien Bourdais led off with a decent qualifying position of eighth, running the top 8 through the first three quarters (except following pit stops) and was able to get as high as fifth. But on lap 65, running in sixth, Bourdais lightly brushed the nose of his car into a tire barrier, which cost him three positions. He quickly recovered and picked up one spot after Takuma Sato caught fire.

“We should’ve finished fifth today, but I made one mistake and it cost us big. The car was definitely more fun, and on the last street course of the season I think we’re headed down the right path. Hopefully we can extrapolate from the work we’ve done and improve our overall performance throughout the rest of the season.”

Bourdais earned 24 points today and is 11th in the 2019 NTT IndyCar championship standings with 232 points. In 15 races on the streets of Toronto, he finished in the top 10 a total of 13 times with eight top 5 showings, five podiums and two wins. The 2019 Honda Indy Toronto was Bourdais’ 199th NTT IndyCar Series start and 15th on the Toronto temporary street circuit.

SANTINO FERRUCCI

Searching for a top 10 finish, Dale Coyne Racing rookie sensation Santino Ferrucci came close to reaching his goal with 11th place in his #19 Cly-Del Manufacturing Honda.

Starting in 17th, Ferrucci and his team decided to pit under a second lap caution period, which allowed him to reach third by lap 20 as the competition pitted for their initial stops. He then moved up to second on lap 31 before making his second scheduled stop on lap 34. Ferrucci returned in 15th position, but lapped traffic caused him to lose a position. Making his final stop on lap 52, he exited pit lane in 15th place and used his speed to reach 11th.

“This street course is more unique than most. I found it pretty hard to stay super-consistent, but thanks to the crew, the #19 Cly-Del Manufacturing Honda felt like it was on rails. Unfortunately, we got shuffled back due to lapped traffic, which wasn’t necessary. We learned and completed another race, almost in the top 10, and we’ll try again in Iowa.

Next Race:

Round 12 of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season will be the Iowa 300, July 19-20 on the 7/8-mile Iowa Speedway oval in Newton, Iowa.