From Ferran through the front door

Before the final round at Laguna Seca, David Brabham and Scott Sharp were almost assured of the LMP1 title. It was enough for the Patron Highcroft Racing crew to manage to cover 70% of the winner's laps. Brabham and Sharp did better than that, finishing third but still four laps behind their biggest rival of the season

Gil de Ferran wanted this victory. For nothing in the world, he would not have let the Acura LMP2 of the Fernandez Racing team win. However, the Brazilian only finished the race six tenths ahead of his rival of the day. At the end of the four hours of racing and 168 laps on the Laguna Seca track, only 0??662 separated Gil de Ferran from his runner-up.

Beyond this victory, Ferran's team knew that the title was no longer playable. It was enough for Scott Sharp and David Brabham, on the other Acura, to complete 70% of the number of laps completed by the winner to pocket the stake. Suffice it to say that the Highcroft crew focused on safety, finishing third, four laps behind the first two cars.

The title was indeed far away for de Ferran, after the misadventures at Road Atlanta, where the No. 66 Acura was hit for the first time, before freelancer Scott Dixon made a mistake alone, ruining the race. usual crew. However, even without Petit's poor performance Le Mans, simon pagenaud could not have won this title without counting on a mistake from the Acura Highcroft, which never gave in. Even Scott Sharp's violent exit from the track during free practice at Petit Le Mans was followed by tremendous work on rebuilding the car by the team, to allow Brabham and Sharp to go for the title.

However, this Laguna Seca race was especially notable because of the announced retirement of Gil de Ferran. Already retired from the circuits after his adventure in Indycar Series (vice-champion in 2003), the Brazilian had returned when launching his team in ALMS. The 2000 and 2001 ChampCar champion then launched into LMP2 in 2008 before moving to the higher category this season. After a mixed start, de Ferran Motorsport found its rhythm and had a string of victories, racking up four consecutive successes.

Even if success in the category was not achieved, Gil de Ferran ended his career on an excellent note, collecting a fifth victory this season in the ALMS. The Brazilian, who will devote himself to his activities as team manager, will hand over the reins. And in particular to his young teammate, Simon Pagenaud, who has continued to impress this season.

« It really wasn't simple, declared Gil de Ferran after his victory and, therefore, his sporting retirement. When I got here, I had a million things to think about. A lot of things were going through my head. But I had to concentrate on what I had to do: pilot. From that point of view, it was very difficult. Somehow the race was so intense that I never had time to think about anything else »

But the winners in the category are David Brabham and Scott Sharp. Although it only won three times, the Acura Highcroft crew was consistent throughout the season, scoring big points in all races. Their worst result was fifth place in Petit Le Mans, after recovering at the last minute a car which was in pieces and pieces 24 hours before the start of the event.