It was announced today in Mexico City that Michel Jourdain Jr., who brought Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing wins in Montreal and Milwaukee in the Champ Car World Series in 2003, will again drive for the team in the 97th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 26.
Jourdain, who finished 19th in the race last May, made his debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1996. Office Depot Mexico returns as the primary sponsor of Jourdain’s No. 17 entry and Grupo Indi and Grupo Multi return as associate sponsors.
He will have Graham Rahal, who was runner-up April 21 in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and James Jakes as teammates.
Click it: Indianapolis 500 Mile Race tickets
“I am very happy to compete in the Indianapolis 500 again,” said Jourdain, 36. “It has been a year since I have been in the car but I will take the same strategy as last year and build up speed little by little. We have good confidence because we ran pretty well last year, especially Takuma (Sato).
"I’m sure the car will be really good and with it being a three-car team we should be able to progress much faster. I’m happy to be working with Bobby (Rahal) and the guys again as well as with Bruno (Couprie) my engineer, who I worked with last year. I have worked with Office Depot Mexico for over 11 years now and I am thankful that they will be the primary sponsor again. I’m also happy to have Grupo Indi and Grupo Multi back again as associate sponsors. Hopefully we can give them all a great result in the Indy 500.”
Jourdain became the youngest driver to start a Champ Car race to date when he drove at Long Beach in 1996 at the age of 19 years, 6 months and 12 days. He made 152 starts in CART and Champ Car from 1996-2004 plus three Indy Racing League starts, including the 1996 Indy 500 where he qualified eighth and finished 13th and the 1996 race in Las Vegas where he finished second in a 28-car field.
He won races in Montreal and Milwaukee in 2003 with Team Rahal and moved to RuSPORT for 2004 when Team Rahal focused solely on the Indy Racing League that season.
“I am very pleased to have Michel join the team again for the Indy 500,” said team co-owner Bobby Rahal, who was in Mexico City for the announcement. “I think that last year for his first race back after a number of years out of an Indy car he did a very good job. He quickly got with the program at Indy and was running competitively in the race and I think that one year later most of the rust is off and he will be much more prepared because he knows what to expect.
"From a car standpoint, we should be even more competitive than we were last year so I am really pleased to have Michel back. He is a great young guy and it’s a pleasure to have him, Office Depot Mexico, Grupo Indi and Grupo Multi back. It should be a good event for everybody.”
Opening Day is May 11. Pole Day is May 18.
