Gutierrez confirmed as replacement for Bourdais

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Esteban Gutierrez will substitute for the injured Sebastien Bourdais at the upcoming Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, marking his maiden appearance in the IndyCar Series at the Dale Coyne Racing squad.

Bourdais was hospitalised following a huge shunt in qualifying for the 101st Indianapolis 500, suffering fractures to his hip and pelvis.

REPLAY: @BourdaisOnTrack makes heavy contact with the turn 2 wall. #INDYCAR #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/z787DqkPwu

— IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) May 21, 2017

The Frenchman had led the IndyCar standings earlier in the year having pulled off a last-to-first victory at the season opener in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, before taking second at the next round in Long Beach.

The next round of the championship sees the drivers go to the streets of Detroit, where Techeetah Formula E driver Gutierrez can’t wait for the chance to show what he can do stateside.

“I’m very grateful to join Dale Coyne Racing, a highly competitive team,” said the Mexican. “When Dale Coyne called me, I had no doubt that this would be a great opportunity for me to get experience in the Verizon IndyCar Series. My target is to learn as quickly as possible. IndyCar is a very challenging series for drivers, but I feel ready to take this chance.”

Team owner Dale Coyne welcomed the 25-year-old to the team and believes his experience of various racing categories will aid the Mexican in adapting to IndyCar.

“We’re going to miss having Sebastien in the #18 car, but we’re very happy with our choice of a replacement for him this weekend,” said Coyne. “Esteban has a great open-wheel racing background, especially with his time in Formula One and the GP2 series. I think he’ll do well in an IndyCar despite the learning curve and we all look forward to seeing what he’ll do this weekend in Detroit.”

Bourdais will also be forced to miss the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to his injuries, with 2004 IndyCar Series champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan already drafted in as his replacement.

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Image courtesy of Rajan Jangda

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