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Bourdais Ready to Make IndyCar Return

For the first time in the last few months, Toro Rosso (still) driver Sebastien Bourdais admitted he is considering a move back to the North American open-wheel series for 2009. Lacking sponsors to back his racing seat in the Great Circle for a second campaign, Bourdais would go just about anywhere as long as it will provide him with a decent racing deal for the next year.

“I'm pretty open. Right now I need a good programme and America would be an interesting option. I have been looking at alternatives (to F1) because that's my job. I need to find a way to make a living, but that's not easy right now - everybody is not willing to commit to any programmes,” Bourdais was quoted as saying by Autosport.

However, it's no news that all North American racing series – open-wheel or stock car – are going through the same economic crisis that affected Formula One in recent months. Certain teams have disappeared from the series' spectrum, while others have turned to merging in order to survive as a team.

Several NASCAR teams have laid off tens of employees in order to dramatically reduce costs within the sport. Consequently, they cut some of their racing programmes for next year. The IndyCar Series isn't doing much better either, with the best example being Bourdais' former team Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. The team is currently looking for sponsors to secure a second drive in next year's IndyCar.

However, money is not exactly what Bourdais seems to have or bring in at the moment. The Frenchman admitted earlier this month that finding sponsors is a hard thing to achieve these days. That's actually part of the reason why he has already gotten used to the idea of not being part of Formula 1 next season, as Takuma Sato – his rival for a Toro Rosso seat – publicly announced his managers have already secured sponsorship for an F1 seat.
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