Four times ChampCar Champion Sébastien Bourdais, has had a major crash during qualifying for next weekend’s Indianapolis 500 and has been taken to hospital.
A statement from INDYCAR said Bourdais was "awake and alert,” after the accident and that “he did not lose consciousness and has been transported by ground to IU Health Methodist Hospital," following the impact.
After setting an average of 231.534mph across his first two laps (the fastest of the day so far), the Frenchman lost control exiting Turn 2 on his third lap. Bourdais was seen on television trying to correct the slide but ended up hitting the SAFER barrier almost head-on.
The car burst into flames on impact and was briefly upside down before coming to rest back on its wheels.
The Holmatro IndyCar Safety Team was on the scene almost immediately and put Bourdais on to a backboard for transportation to the Indiana University Hospital.
A spokeswoman for his Dale Coyne Racing team said that Bourdais was complaining of pain in his right leg. Bourdais won the season-opening IndyCar race in St Petersburg and had set the fastest time of the Indy 500 build-up in the 'Fast Friday' practice session.
