WEBWIRE — Saturday, December 30, 2023
Gil de Ferran, who won the 2003 Indianapolis 500 and 2 INDYCAR SERIES champions, dropped dead after a quick disease Dec. 29 near his home in Florida. He was 56.
De Ferran edged Team Penske colleague and fellow Brazilian Helio Castroneves in a scintillating surface in the 2003 edition of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, making his success by.2990 of a 2nd after passing Castroneves for great on Lap 170. De Ferran made his sole 500 success in the last of his 4 profession begins in the race, as he retired as a motorist after the 2003 INDYCAR SERIES season.
SEE:De Ferran Photos through the Years
While de Ferran rejected buddy Castroneves a record-setting 3rd successive 500 win in 2003, de Ferrans drive to triumph circle was the 3rd straight Indy win for Team Penske. He likewise completed runner-up behind Castroneves in 2001.
The Indianapolis 500 success was the zenith of an impressive profession that likewise consisted of INDYCAR SERIES champions under CART sanction in 2000 and 2001 while driving for Team Penske. In both seasons, de Ferran utilized a mix of speed, consistency and racecraft to win the champion regardless of not being the chauffeur with the most success. That encapsulated the precise, analytical technique to his craft that de Ferran revealed throughout his whole profession.
De Ferran ended his INDYCAR SERIES driving profession with 12 triumphes and 21 poles, with his last win can be found in his last profession start, on Oct. 12, 2003, at Texas Motor Speedway. His very first triumph came as a novice in 1995 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca while driving for Hall/VDS Racing. He made CART Rookie of the Year honors in 1995.
The Brazilian moved from Hall/VDS to Walker Racing in 1997 after Hall/VDS owner Jim Hall retired from the sport. De Ferran completed second in the CART standings in 1997 regardless of going winless that season. He still got prestige that year by ending up 2nd to Mark Blundell at Portland International Raceway by.027 of a 2nd, the closest outcome ever in a CART-sanctioned occasion.
De Ferrans profession progressed when he signed up with Team Penske for the 2000 season, coupling with Castroneves for the next 4 seasons. He won the very first of his two-straight champions and made racing history throughout certifying at California Speedway when he set the closed-course land speed record with a lap of 241.428 miles per hour, a mark that stands today. De Ferran likewise made Team Penske its 100th INDYCAR SERIES profession triumph in 2000 at Nazareth Speedway.
After his INDYCAR SERIES profession, de Ferran blended driving in cars and his budding profession in group management with his normal mix of courtesy and class.
He signed up with the BAR-Honda Formula One group as sporting director in 2005, staying because function till 2007. De Ferran returned to the cockpit in 2008 in a factory-backed Acura LMP2 model in the American Le Mans Series as the owner-driver of his group, de Ferran Motorsports, sharing the wheel with future INDYCAR SERIES champ and Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud.
The group reached the premier LMP1 model class as an Acura factory group in 2009, with 5 triumphes and 7 poles en path to a runner-up surface in the standings.
De Ferran retired as a motorist after the 2009 season and co-owned de Ferran Dragon Racing in the INDYCAR SERIES through 2011. Throughout this time, de Ferran likewise worked as a group owners representative on the ICONIC committee that assessed styles for the next generation of INDYCAR SERIES chassis, with his enormous technical and supervisory acumen including significantly to the procedure.
In July 2018, de Ferran was called sporting director for McLaren Racing in Formula One, a function he held up until early 2021. In May 2023, he likewise was rehired by McLaren as a specialist and consultant.
De Ferran began racing in karting in Brazil, where he moved as a young child with his household after being born in Paris. He advanced through junior open-wheel solutions in Brazil before relocating to Great Britain to race.
He completed third in the 1991 British Formula 3 champion, behind only future F1 race winners Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard. In 1992, de Ferran won the British F3 title for Paul Stewart Racing with 7 triumphes. He raced in Formula 3000 (now Formula 2, one action listed below F1) in 1993 and 1994 for Paul Stewart Racing, ending up connected for 4th in 1993 and 3rd in 1994 before transferring to America to race in 1995.
De Ferran is made it through by his better half, Angela, whom he fulfilled when she worked for Paul Stewart Racing; child, Anna; and boy, Luke.
By Paul Kelly
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