Championship leader Sebastien Bourdais is remaining focused ahead of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, with the Frenchman currently sat 19 points ahead of Long Beach race winner James Hinchcliffe in the drivers’ championship.
The four-time champion started his 2017 campaign in fine form by securing victory at the season-opener at St. Petersburg, before rising up through the order once again to finish on the podium at Long Beach.
"I think being in the championship lead is a great story more than anything else, but it doesn't change anything in our preparation,” explained Bourdais, who has never finished higher than eighth at Barber.
“We're preparing like any other race, at a track that I very much enjoy driving at and where the gap between the cars is like at Long Beach – very, very, very close.”
“We had a bit of a difficult test at Barber last month where we weren't very happy with the car and what we tried didn't quite work.
“However, we then had a great test at Sonoma that allowed us to try some items for Barber, and we can't wait to finally try those and see how they work out."
Meanwhile Dale Coyne Racing team-mate Ed Jones is expecting a tough weekend around the Barber Motorsports Park, with the rookie hoping to call upon his Indy Lights knowledge to assist him.
So far Jones has impressed many within the IndyCar paddock, finishing within the top ten at both St. Petersburg and Long Beach.
"It's a perfect start to the season with two top-10 finishes,” explained the Dubai-born British racer.
“It's good to have a lot of momentum for the team and myself going forward.
“Barber will be the first track that we go to that we've actually tested at recently. Obviously, everyone else has also done that, but it gives us more knowledge going in.
“I think it's going to be tough. The circuit is one of the hardest on the calendar both physically and technically. There's a lot of long-duration corners and corners that require a lot of confidence.
“I think my Indy Lights experience should help a lot, at least for track knowledge in certain places like Barber and just in general.”
