SebastIien Bourdais

The Taxi company that I work for is one of the sponsors of the San Jose Grand Prix. The countdown to opening day (July-28th) has begun and I was asked if I would like to bring my taxi into town yesterday morning for the press conference. I was told that Sebastien Bourdais, with Newman/Haas Racing, would be there. Bourdais is a fast driver who almost never makes mistakes. He is on fire and has won the season’s first four races.

I asked Mr. Bourdais if he had a favorite track and he told me,”Yes, I like Wisconsin.” Then I asked, “What are your feelings about women racers?” Again with his French accent he replied, “If the women have the skills they should race.” I then said, “Just as long as you win?” He answered me with a smile. Our brief encounter ended before I could bring up Katherine Legge.

This year, spectators have been promised better viewing, and better footpath patterns that should help keep the crowds moving. The organizers of the race have made some improvements to the 1.5-mile, seven-turn track. Corners have been made wider to allow for passing maneuvers and the bumps have been smoothed out.

Speaking of maneuvers, the San Jose Grand Prix event is not being put on without controversy. Take the secret $4 million race subsidy Mayor Ron Gonzales and City Councilwoman Cindy Chavez discussed with race promoters months before the rest of the City Council knew about the deal. Some of the people in San Jose are not happy that their city is being turned into a race track and when the city announced that palm trees in the landscape along Park Ave. would be removed, that only added to their ire.

Bring your earplugs to the San Jose Grand Prix

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1. San Jose Grand Prix
2. And the Winner is…San Jose!
3. Spring (Training Camp) is in the Air
4. High School Drop Off
5. Countdown to ZeroOne