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Written by:
Marshall Pruett
05/22/2008 - 12:49 PM
Oakland, CA
de Ferran succeeds Dirk Muller, Marco Werner, and Marino Franchitti as winners of SPEEDtv.com's ALMS "Drive of the Race" award. » More Photos
“Well...what can I say?!” was Gil de Ferran’s reaction he was informed he’d won the American Le Mans Series ‘Drive of the Race’ award for his stellar performance in Utah last Sunday. “It has been an unbelievable weekend! I was very appreciative of all the nice and flattering coverage we were getting over the weekend and now...further accolades! Many thanks, not only from myself, but I am sure Simon and all our team would second my feelings.”
Before we get to the rest of Gil’s interview, it bears pondering how many additional Indy 500 wins or Indycar victories de Ferran would have amassed had he not retired at the end of the 2003 IRL season. Nearly five years removed from his career as a top international racecar driver, de Ferran spent last Sunday storming back into the profession that made his name, made him millions of dollars, and earned the Brazilian an army of loyal fans.
We would have forgiven him had a slight tinge of rust been evident in his driving, but the de Ferran of old was bang on the pace from the open practice session at Utah. Paired with 24 year-old French phenom Simon Pagenaud, the two open-wheel champions served notice of their immediate adaptation to the American Le Mans Series.
Gil's new team and driving performance found him at the center of attention in Utah. (Photo: Marshall Pruett) » More Photos
de Ferran continued his impressive streak of being atop the time sheets through all but the last two minutes of qualifying, ultimately settling for a front row berth, just 0.139 behind the German. A mistake by Gil on his final qualifying lap would find the de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-01b spinning wildly into the rough Utah trackside; a decision was made to mount new tires for the race, dropping them from the front row to the back of the grid.
The tire-killing spin aside, de Ferran’s performance in testing, practice, and qualifying had been superb. Starting from the rear of the field, de Ferran used a deft, masterful touch to pick his way to the front of the field without drama and without contact.
For a driver completely unaccustomed to the driving habits of his competitors and five years removed from wheel-to-wheel battles, de Ferran moved through the field like he was playing the board game “Operation” at 150 miles per hour.
Handing the car over to Pagenaud, de Ferran
John Hindhaugh, voice of American Le Mans Radio/Radio Le Mans was the first to throw his vote de Ferran’s way. “I know we are voting for the race performance but you can’t forget Gil in qualifying...mega!!! Yes he threw it off and rooted the tyres but he took that on the chin, started the car from last, and was flawless. The way he picked his way through the traffic from the start - marvelous, was already up to forth just after the second restart! Has clearly not lost any of his ability.
“He’s a complete star - gives hope to all of us who are over forty; sadly we can't all be as talented or good looking as GdF!”
Racecar Engineering Deputy Editor Sam Collins was also vocal in his support for de Ferran. “After coming back from the wilderness of F1 management—a less than pleasant time at HondaF1, and he hops in at his first race and shows pure class at the wheel, and in a superb car. ‘Drive of the Race’ has to be de Ferran.”
de Ferran's familiar helmet design was a welcome addition to the American Le Mans paddock. (Photo: Marshall Pruett) » More Photos
For Gil, the Miller Motorsports Park round of the ‘Series was the culmination of many sleepless nights over the past few months while building his team from the ground up. Such an impressive debut was likely beyond his expectations.
“Overall it was a great weekend. There were so many 'firsts', Ii lost count! It was my first race since retirement nearly 5 years ago, first race as an owner, first sportscar race for both Simon and I, first this and first that...given this awareness, I suppose, we went into the weekend with a very open mind. Obviously we used our collective judgment and experience leading up to the weekend to ensure we were as prepared as we could have been, and I must admit the support of the guys from the Acura Motorsport program was instrumental during this preparation. But, in the end of the day, we were very unsure of how things were going to go given our lack of experience.
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