DE FERRAN'S DRIVES: THE BEST OF THE BEST
Gil de Ferran's illustrious career comes to an end this weekend with the
four-hour Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patron. De Ferran
Motorsports' team owner hopes to end his run on a high note with a victory
at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the site where he scored his first IndyCar
victory in the 1995 season.
That victory came with Jim Hall, who gave de Ferran his big break by
signing him to drive that season. It's fitting that de Ferran and Simon
Pagenaud will drive an all-white XM Acura ARX-02a this weekend as a tribute
to Hall's influence in the Brazilian legend's career. Speaking of that, de
Ferran recently ticked down a list of his greatest racing highlights as he
heads into retirement.
"Usually events kind of stick in your mind because either they are huge
events or because they meant a lot to you for a particular reason," de
Ferran said. "Looking back through time, ultimately the events that meant a
lot to me were typically events that helped cement my career on the right
path as a driver."
So let's get started...
1. His first victory in the UK in Formula Ford. "It came at Oulton Park in
1989 after a horrendous year in 1988. There was an important event in my
life."
2. A test that gave him his first ride with Jackie Stewart. "At the end of
1989, I was invited to drive their Formula Ford 2000 car at Donington Park.
Jackie had a lot of drivers there that he was testing with a view to take
them on. He had already signed (David) Coulthard and was looking for
someone to partner with David. The test went very well. I broke the lap
record and on the same day as the test, he offered me a job. It was a very
proud moment. He told me, 'You drove beautifully.' Coming from Jackie, that
was a very meaningful compliment."
3. A 1991 F3 victory on the British GP weekend at Silverstone. "A Reynard
car had not won a F3 race in a couple of years. The 1991 car was quite a
good car but I was the only one to win a race. I got pole position, fastest
race lap in the first race and cruised to both wins. It meant a lot to do
that in front of the F1 crowd."
4. The first test for Jim Hall. "I tested for Jim in 1994. It was in Big
Springs, Texas and was something like 104 degrees ambient. It was a small
little test track near the workshop. The circumstances were interesting
because I was testing at Monza the weekend before and hurt my neck. I was
feeling sorry for myself with a neck brace when I received this call out
the blue from Jim, asking if I would be able to test the car. I was leading
the F3 championship and had to check with Jackie, which I did. I also had
to check with the doctor! This was on a Wednesday and the test came on the
weekend. I got there, made a seat the next day, and the test went really
well. He made an offer to me a few months later."
5. His first North American win at Laguna Seca in 1995. "That was a huge
moment. It was then that I was in the big time. Indy cars were so big at
the time. The sponsor (Pennzoil) was big, and I was driving for a famous
team. By winning that last round, we clinched the Rookie of the Year
honors. It was a double-whammy there. It helped cement my career and gave
us a pretty important landmark."
6. The move to Penske in 2000. "I had just signed a deal to drive a deal
for 'America's Ferrari', and that would be Team Penske. The very first time
out at Homestead, I stuck the car on pole position. That was something
really; Penske had been going through a drought, at least in their
standards. 2000 was a breakthrough. It was the first time they were running
Reynards and Hondas. It was all different that year.
7. The first win with Penske. "A couple of races after the first round,
which I did not win (Ed. Note: Although he did take pole at Homestead and
Long Beach), we ended up getting Penske's 100th IndyCar win at Nazareth.
That was a memorable moment. To be the one that brought the 100th win was
something that stuck in my memory. Later in the year we were fighting for
the championship and put in the qualifying record (a 241.426 mph blast that
set a world record for a closed circuit) at Fontana for the race. Funny
enough at the time, the most important thing then was the point for the
championship. But as time as gone on, the significance of having the world
record grew."
8. A duel with Kenny Brack at Rockingham in 2001. "I still had a lot of
fans in the UK during my early days but what marked this for me were the
events leading up the race. It was the week after 9/11, we were in Germany
the week before where Alex (Zanardi) lost his legs and we didn't know if he
was going to live at the time. My family was supposed to join me in England
but no one could fly and there was a lot of uncertainty. Being separated
from them was not so nice. We didn't have any practice because it was
raining. I think we had a 20-lap session before the race. The race is still
on YouTube if you want to watch! I led most of the race and got caught up
in traffic and Kenny Brack passed me with two laps to go and I passed him
on the last corner."
9. Winning the Indy 500 in 2003. "I think I remember that for a bunch of
reasons. I came back after a near-career ending accident in Phoenix and
missed a couple of rounds. Indy was my first race back. I remember having
conversations with Roger (Penske) and Tim Cindric), and them asking me if I
was going to be ready. I drove the car for the first time on opening day,
and I didn't feel good at all. It just wasn't working. I stuck with it and
over the next few days I felt more comfortable in the car and of course
managed to win. That was probably one of the greatest accomplishments of my
career. The prior two years I was as close to winning the race as you can
come without actually doing it."
10. Winning at Texas in 2003 to close his open-wheel career. "Texas was a
place where we had not gone well. But things came together. I'll never
forget the gut-wrenching feelings with the Kenny Brack accident. We had
raced in Europe probably 10 years prior. At that time, we didn't know his
status. I knew the accident was horrendous. It was a lot of different
emotions going through my head. It was the last time I strapped myself in
the car and winning, but also the chance that we had lost one of my
colleagues.
11. First race with Acura at Salt Lake City, 2008. "I was determined to get
on pole and made a strategic error that cost us. I hadn't driven a road
course for seven years and no car in five years. We had to change tires and
start from the back, and we drove to second place by the driver change.
There really were a lot of things going on there but it was extremely
rewarding and satisfying."
12. This year's victory at Salt Lake City. "A year on from that very near
miss in 2008, which could have been a debut victory, we dominated the
weekend. It was a great weekend for us. It was nice to have an all-green
race. I hadn't had one of those for a long, long time!"
The final race in the 2009 American Le Mans Series is the four-hour
Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey,
Calif. The green flag is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. PT on Saturday, October
10. The race will air on SPEED from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, October
11. Live coverage will be available via American Le Mans Radio presented by
Porsche via americanlemans.com, which also will feature Living Timing &
Scoring on Racehub. Live coverage also can be heard on Sirius 126 and XM
242. You can follow the Series on Twitter (almsnotes) and on our Facebook
page.
The race will also mark the 10th and final round of the 2009 MICHELIN®
GREEN X® Challenge. Tickets are available at americanlemans.com and
mazdaraceway.com.
-credit: alms
