Gil de Ferran

Gil de Ferran

de Ferran at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in March 2011.
Nationality Brazilian
Born November 11, 1967
Paris, France
IRL IndyCar Series
Years active 2001-2003
Teams Penske Racing
Starts 31
Wins 5
Poles 5
Best finish 2nd in 2003
Gil de Ferran
CART Championship Car
Years active 1995-2001
Teams Hall Racing
Walker Racing
Penske Racing
Starts 129
Wins 7
Poles 16
Best finish 1st in 2000 & 2001
Previous series
1993-1994
1991-1992		 Formula 3000
British Formula Three
Championship titles
2000, 2001
1992		 CART World Series Champion
British Formula Three Champion
Awards
2003 Indianapolis 500 winner
Gil de Ferran
De Ferran at the 2005 United States Grand Prix

Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France, to Brazilian parents), is a professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for the Penske Honda Team and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500.

Early career

Inspired by the success of fellow Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi, de Ferran began his career in kart racing in the early 1980s. He graduated to Formula Ford level in 1987 and Formula Three in 1991. Driving for Edenbridge Racing, De Ferran finished the 1991 British Formula Three season in third, only behind Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard. For the 1992 season, De Ferran moved to Paul Stewart Racing and won the title, scoring seven wins in the process.

1993 and 1994 were spent driving for Paul Stewart Racing in International Formula 3000. De Ferran finished fourth in the series in 1993 and then took the championship down to the wire in 1994, ultimately finishing third. In 1993, De Ferran tested for a day the Footwork Arrows Formula One team along with Dutch racer Jos Verstappen. His day was seriously compromised after he bumped his head while walking nearby the motorhome. He times also compared poorly to Verstappen's.

CART

At the end of 1994, de Ferran was invited to test a CART by Hall/VDS Racing. Despite the worries of the team's sponsor Pennzoil that de Ferran was not famous enough name for their car, the team was sufficiently impressed to offer de Ferran a drive for 1995. With no top-line Formula One drive available de Ferran took up the offer to drive in America.

De Ferran won the rookie of the year award in 1995 by finishing 14th. He scored his first CART win in the last race of the year at Laguna Seca Raceway.

In 1996, de Ferran was a consistent challenger but only scored one win, at Cleveland. This win was the last for veteran car owner and driver Jim Hall who retired from the sport at the end of 1996. Hall's retirement also spelled the end of the Pennzoil Hall team. Despite rumours that he would be a driver for the new Stewart Grand Prix Formula One team, de Ferran stayed in America for 1997, joining Walker Racing.

De Ferran finished 1997 as runner-up to Alex Zanardi with ten top-ten finishes but failed to score a single victory. He looked on course to win the season opener at Homestead but was knocked out of the lead by a lapped driver, Dennis Vitolo. At the Grand Prix of Portland he lost out to PacWest Racing's Mark Blundell in the closest finish in CART history.

The expected championship challenge never materialized in 1998. Unreliability, driver errors and the inferior performance of the Goodyear tires compared to the Firestone tires all combined to leave de Ferran 12th in the standings, again with no wins in the year.

In 1999 the breakthrough finally came as de Ferran beat Juan Pablo Montoya at Portland to take his first win since mid-1996 and the Walker team's first since early-1995. However that victory would be the end of an era as Goodyear and Valvoline both left CART racing at the end of 1999. Toward the end of that season, de Ferran and Greg Moore were signed to Marlboro Team Penske to replace Al Unser, Jr. and the rotating arrangement of drivers employed after Andre Ribeiro retired. However, Moore was killed in a crash in the season finale and de Ferran's fellow countryman Helio Castroneves joined him.

On October 28, 2000, during CART qualifying at Auto Club Speedway, de Ferran set the track record for fastest lap at 241.428 mph (388.541 km/h).[1] As of March 2012, this stands as the fastest lap speed ever recorded at an official race meeting.[2]

The Penske years saw de Ferran finally fulfil the promise of his earlier career with two CART titles and an Indy 500 victory. His analytical approach earned him comparisons with Penske's first driver, Mark Donohue. He also garnered praise for his politeness and integrity: when Penske switched to the Indy Racing League in 2002, he did not criticize the move even though it meant he could not defend his Champ Car title.

Following his Indianapolis triumph de Ferran decided to retire at the end of 2003. He won his final race, although the moment was soured by a terrifying crash during the race that left fellow Indy winner Kenny Bräck seriously injured.

Formula One Managerial Career

In 2005, he moved to the BAR-Honda Formula One team as their Sports Director. He resigned from this position in July 2007 after becoming "increasingly uncomfortable" with the team.[3]

de Ferran Motorsports

On January 29, 2008 de Ferran announced that he will return to the cockpit and field a factory-backed LMP2 class Acura ARX-01b prototype in the American Le Mans Series, under the team name de Ferran Motorsports. The team began competing around the mid-way point of the 2008 season, with De Ferran running the team and sharing driving duties with Simon Pagenaud.[4]

Success again was immediate and de Ferran Motorsports took four front row grid positions, led six races and scored three podium finishes in just eight starts.

2009 saw another challenge when de Ferran Motorsports was chosen by Honda to develop the Acura ARX-02a for competition in the LMP1 division of the American Le Mans Series. The team scored five outright wins, seven poles, seven fastest laps and finished runners up in the ALMS LMP1 Championship.

Return to IndyCar

Half way through 2009 de Ferran announced his decision to retire from the cockpit at the end of the racing season, expressing his intention to concentrate all his resources on expanding his team, making public his desire to return to IndyCar racing as a front running team owner. Prior to the start of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season, de Ferran merged his team with Luczo Dragon Racing, a team started by Jay Penske, the son of de Ferran’s former boss Roger Penske, and Steve Luczo, a successful technology leader and racing enthusiast. The new team was named de Ferran Dragon Racing and is the realization of de Ferran’s ambition to return to IndyCar.

De Ferran Dragon Racing, with driver Raphael Matos, earned four Top Ten finishes in its debut campaign and led 15 laps during the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In 2010, IndyCar also began planning for a completely new car concept, to debut during the 2012 season. Due to his technical knowledge, motorsports experience across different series and roles, as well as the widespread respect he holds within the racing industry, de Ferran was chosen by his team owner peers to represent their interests in the development of the future IndyCar. As part of the ICONIC committee, who created the concept for the future of IndyCar Racing.

In 2011 de Ferran Dragon racing closed its doors due to lack of funding, having attempted to stay operational for the new season.

Recognition

In July 2013, Autosport magazine named De Ferran one of the 50 greatest drivers to have never raced in Formula One.

Personal life

De Ferran currently lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with his English wife Angela and children Anna (born 1995) and Luke (born 1997).

Motorsports Career Results

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DC Points
1993 Paul Stewart Racing DON
Ret		 SIL
1		 PAU
Ret		 PER
Ret		 HOC
9†		 NÜR
2		 SPA
2		 MAG
Ret		 NOG
7		 4th 21
1994 Paul Stewart Racing SIL
3		 PAU
1		 CAT
Ret		 PER
1		 HOC
3		 SPA
5		 EST
Ret		 MAG
Ret		 3rd 28

American Open Wheel

(key)

CART career results

Year Team Wins Points Championship Finish
1995 Hall/VDS Racing 1 56 14th
1996 Hall/VDS Racing 1 104 6th
1997 Walker Racing 0 162 2nd
1998 Walker Racing 0 67 12th
1999 Walker Racing 1 108 8th
2000 Penske Racing 2 168 1st
2001 Penske Racing 2 199 1st

CART

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Rank Points
1995 Jim Hall MIA
Ret		 SRF
16		 PHX
11		 LBH
27		 NZR
19		 INDY
Ret		 MIL
8		 DET
16		 POR
10		 ROA
Ret		 TOR
16		 CLE
14		 MIS
12		 MDO
Ret		 NHM
7		 VAN
2		 LS
1		 14th 56
1996 Jim Hall MIA
2		 RIO
10		 SRF
Ret		 LBH
5		 NZR
Ret		 MIS1
9		 MIL
9		 DET
3		 POR
2		 CLE
1		 TOR
18		 MIS2
Ret		 MDO
17		 ROA
Ret		 VAN
Ret		 LS
Ret		 6th 104
1997 Walker MIA
Ret		 SRF
5		 LBH
Ret		 NZR
4		 RIO
11		 STL
3		 MIL
7		 DET
3		 POR
2		 CLE
2		 TOR
Ret		 MIS
3		 MDO
6		 ROA
3		 VAN
3		 LS
5		 FON
6		 2nd 162
1998 Walker MIA
7		 MOT
3		 LBH
Ret		 NZR
4		 RIO
Ret		 STL
6		 MIL
Ret		 DET
3		 POR
Ret		 CLE
6		 TOR
Ret		 MIS
Ret		 MDO
9		 ROA
Ret		 VAN
Ret		 LS
Ret		 HOU
Ret		 SRF
14		 FON
Ret		 12th 67
1999 Walker MIA
6		 MOT
2		 LBH
6		 NZR
15		 RIO
10		 STL
Ret		 MIL
3		 POR
1		 CLE
2		 ROA
Ret		 TOR
Ret		 MIS
Ret		 DET
Ret		 MDO
6		 CHI
13		 VAN
Ret		 LS
6		 HOU
17		 SRF
Ret		 FON
9		 8th 108
2000 Penske MIA
6		 LBH
7		 RIO
Ret		 MOT
9		 NZR
1		 MIL
12		 DET
9		 POR
1		 CLE
Ret		 TOR
5		 MIS
Ret		 CHI
3		 MDO
2		 ROA
Ret		 VAN
5		 LS
2		 STL
8		 HOU
3		 SRF
Ret		 FON
3		 1st 168
2001 Penske MTY
2		 LBH
3		 TXS
NH		 NZR
Ret		 MOT
Ret		 MIL
7		 DET
6		 POR
13		 CLE
4		 TOR
14		 MIS
Ret		 CHI
3		 MDO
2		 ROA
5		 VAN
2		 LAU
8		 ROC
1		 HOU
1		 LS
3		 SRF
4		 FON
6		 1st 199

2 championships, 7 victories

Indy Racing League career results

Year Team Wins Points Championship Finish
2001 Penske Racing 0 46 28th
2002 Penske Racing 2 443 3rd
2003 Penske Racing 3 489 2nd

0 championships, 5 victories

IndyCar Series

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rank Points
2001 Penske PHX
Ret		 HMS
 		 ATL
 		 INDY
2		 TXS
 		 PPIR
 		 RIR
 		 KAN
 		 NSH
 		 KTY
 		 STL
 		 CHI
 		 TX2
 		 28th 46
2002 Penske HMS
2		 PHX
2		 FON
4		 NZR
3		 INDY
10		 TXS
16		 PPIR
1		 RIR
2		 KAN
5		 NSH
2		 MIS
5		 KTY
21		 STL
1		 CHI
Ret		 TX2
INJ		 3rd 443
2003 Penske HMS
2		 PHX
Ret		 MOT
INJ		 INDY
1		 TXS
8		 PPIR
3		 RIR
3		 KAN
3		 NSH
1		 MIS
7		 STL
3		 KTY
9		 NZR
4		 CHI
12		 FON
15		 TX2
1		 2nd 489

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
1995 Reynard Ilmor-Mercedes 19th 29th Hall
2001 Dallara Oldsmobile 5th 2nd Penske
2002 Dallara Chevrolet 14th 10th Penske
2003 G-Force Toyota 10th 1st Penske

Complete American Le Mans Series results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine Tyres 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points
2008 de Ferran Motorsports LMP2 Acura ARX-01b Acura 3.4L V8 M SEB STP LNB UTA
3
 LIM
14/7
 MID
Ret
 AME
18/8
 MOS
7/5
 DET
3
 PET
8/5
 MON
4/2
 9th 85
2009 de Ferran Motorsports LMP1 Acura ARX-02a Acura 4.0L V8 M SEB
Ret
 STP
Ret
 LNB
1
 UTA
1
 LIM
1
 MID
1
 AME
2
 MOS
2
 PET
24/7
 MON
1
 2nd 162

External links

References

  1. ↑ "De Ferran wins pole, sets record". Las Vegas Sun. October 28, 2000. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ Webster, George. "PRN — Performance Racing News — Who holds the world’s closed course record? A.J. Foyt | PRN — Performance Racing News". Prnmag.com. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  3. ↑ "De Ferran quits role with Honda". BBC Sport. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  4. ↑ Olson, Jeff. De Ferran to Become Acura Owner/Driver, SpeedTV.com, January 29, 2008
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Rubens Barrichello		 British Formula Three
Champion
1992 		Succeeded by
Kelvin Burt
Preceded by
Jacques Villeneuve		 CART Rookie of the Year
1995 		Succeeded by
Alex Zanardi
Preceded by
Juan Pablo Montoya		 CART Series
Champion
2000-2001 		Succeeded by
Cristiano da Matta
Preceded by
Hélio Castroneves		 Indianapolis 500 Winner
2003 		Succeeded by
Buddy Rice