IndyCar driver Sébastien Bourdais, who sustained a fractured right hip and multiple pelvic fractures in an enormous Indianapolis 500 qualifying crash, was released from the hospital Wednesday, per IndyCar. Bourdais now starts his recovery at a local Indianapolis rehab facility.
Bourdais lost control of his Dale Coyne Racing IndyCar during Saturday qualifying, crashing nose-in to the wall. Now, thanks to modern racing safety tech and surgery performed Saturday evening, he’s already out of the hospital and heading into rehab.
Bourdais is now walking with the help of crutches, although IndyCar medical consultant Dr. Kevin Scheid told IndyCar that he expects it to take eight weeks for Bourdais’ fractures to fully heal to the point where he can put weight on his right leg again:
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Sebastien is progressing amazingly fast for having pelvis and hip fractures, and considering the severity of the crash. He is walking with crutches, in good spirits and feeling good.
We expect the fractures to heal in around eight weeks and he should be able to start putting weight on the right leg then. Until that time, he can work on rehabilitating his upper body, core strength and range of motion in the hip.
Until then, Bourdais will be spending ample time in rehab, with Dale Coyne Racing owner Dale Coyne telling Motorsport.com that there’s no way he’s letting Bourdais back in the car this season:
First day after the crash he was saying he wanted to be back for Sonoma [the season finale]. I said, “No, skip Sonoma, then you’ve got an extra four months to heal, and come back in January and we’ll do it right.”
Then today he was saying he was figuring if there was any way possible to do Le Mans for Chip [Ganassi, who runs the Ford GT team]. That’s next month! Claire [his wife] said no to that one…
Bourdais clearly wants to get back in a race car soon as any racer would in his situation, but Coyne would prefer that Bourdais allow his injuries to fully heal before he even thinks about it. A full-season replacement for Bourdais is yet to be announced.
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