Gil de Ferran stops for good

Gil de Ferran, at 41, will have had a busy career. The driver began his career in Formula Ford in Brazil, before going into exile in Europe. He drove in the British Formula Ford 1600 before joining the prestigious Formula 3 British. For his first season, the Brazilian won three races and finished third in the championship. The following year, in 1992, he finished as British F3 champion, winning seven races out of sixteen.

Gil de Ferran then competed for two seasons in F3000, at the time a judge of the peace regarding the level of young drivers. Despite a fourth and a third place in this championship, the Brazilian fails to open the doors to the Formula 1. He then crossed the Atlantic again, with the aim of competing in IndyCar or in Champ Car, then called CART. It is in this discipline that he will become involved in the long term. After three seasons with Walker Racing, winning only one victory in 56 races, Gil de Ferran joined the renowned Penske team. With the latter, the Brazilian monopolized the podiums and won two consecutive CART titles, in 2000 and 2001.

At almost 34 years old, Gil de Ferran thinks he has made the rounds in motorsport but is taking on one last challenge, by joining the IndyCar Series. Still within the Penske team, the driver asserts himself as one of the best competitors on the field, scoring a podium every two races. In two seasons, Gil de Ferran reached the podium fifteen times, won five races and placed third in the general classification in 2002, and second in 2003. It was during this last year that the Brazilian achieved prestigious success at the 500 Miles from Indianapolis. At the end of this season, after more than fifteen years racing the circuits, Gil de Ferran put an end to his racing career.

If he did not manage to join the Formula 1 paddock as a driver, he managed to do so as a sporting director. In 2005, after a catastrophic start to the season, the BAR-Honda team called on the Brazilian. After more than two years of collaboration, Gil de Ferran threw in the towel in the summer of 2007, no longer finding his place within the structure. Shortly after, de Ferran set up his own team and entered the American in 2008. Le Mans Series.

With an Acura ARX-01b, Gil de Ferran tames endurance in LM P2. In 2009, with an Acura ARX-02a, he moved to the higher category (LM P1) and recruited the young Frenchman simon pagenaud. With the Frenchman, Gil de Ferran had a season of great beauty. Aside from the legendary 12 Hours of Sebring race, de Ferran and Pagenaud climbed onto the podium each time. Third in St Petersburg, the duo then went on to win three victories, in Long Beach, Salt Lake City and Lime Rock Park. By capturing his fifth pole of the season, in six rounds, Gil de Ferran once again asserts his qualities as a driver, before announcing that he is hanging up his helmet at the end of the season, for good. His last challenge as a driver will be to win the ALMS championship title with his team, while the Brabham/Sharp crew still dominates the standings.

But Gil de Ferran does not want to stop there. Announcing the end of his racing career, the Brazilian adds that he now wishes to devote himself to the expansion of his team. And, to start, Gil de Ferran wants to join the IndyCar Series paddocks and run two cars there. After a rich racing career, the Brazilian now hopes to experience more success with his team.