Gil de Ferran's final race in ALMS
10-09-2009, 08:31 AM
#1
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Gil de Ferran's final race in ALMS
On his final weekend of competitive driving, Gil de Ferran turned in the fastest lap in testing Thursday for the Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón with a lap of 1:12.557 (111.041 mph) around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. De Ferran, driving the XM Radio Acura ARX-02a with Simon Pagenaud, announced in August that he is stepping out of the cockpit after the season to focus on growing his de Ferran Motorsports operation.
The de Ferran Acura is running this weekend in a striking all-white livery in honor of Chaparral founder Jim Hall, who gave de Ferran his break into North American open-wheel racing in the mid-1990s.
The Brazilian legend was 0.316 seconds better than David Brabham in Patrón Highcroft Racing’s Acura. The reigning Le Mans winner is driving with season-long teammate Scott Sharp with the pairing on the verge of the LMP1 championship. They lead de Ferran and Pagenaud by 21 points heading into the weekend and need to complete 70 percent of the overall winner’s distance to score points. Twenty-five points go to class winners.
The de Ferran Acura is running this weekend in a striking all-white livery in honor of Chaparral founder Jim Hall, who gave de Ferran his break into North American open-wheel racing in the mid-1990s.
The Brazilian legend was 0.316 seconds better than David Brabham in Patrón Highcroft Racing’s Acura. The reigning Le Mans winner is driving with season-long teammate Scott Sharp with the pairing on the verge of the LMP1 championship. They lead de Ferran and Pagenaud by 21 points heading into the weekend and need to complete 70 percent of the overall winner’s distance to score points. Twenty-five points go to class winners.
Good luck to Gil.
10-10-2009, 09:42 AM
#3
Big Block go VROOOM!
The white surroundings of a Chaparral suited Gil de Ferran just fine. His last weekend as a driver started out like a dream – behind the wheel of Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2 around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The American Le Mans Series’ Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón marks the final race of de Ferran’s outstanding career. But Thursday showed that even the most legendary of figures can still find new thrills.
A stunning sight...two Chaparrals and the de Ferran Acura in all-white.
“I can’t tell you the emotions of the entire experience,” said de Ferran, who flanked Hall’s Chaparral 2E with Simon Pagenaud on the other side in de Ferran Motorsports’ Acura ARX-02a. All three cars were the famed Chaparral white, de Ferran’s tribute to the man who gave him his break in North American motorsports. De Ferran drove for Hall’s IndyCar team in 1995 and 1996, with the pairing’s first victory coming at Laguna Seca in 1995.
“Being here for my last race, Jim being here, driving a Chaparral for the first time…it’s just great,” de Ferran said. “I could still be in the car now and be quite happy about it.”
A stunning sight...two Chaparrals and the de Ferran Acura in all-white.
“I can’t tell you the emotions of the entire experience,” said de Ferran, who flanked Hall’s Chaparral 2E with Simon Pagenaud on the other side in de Ferran Motorsports’ Acura ARX-02a. All three cars were the famed Chaparral white, de Ferran’s tribute to the man who gave him his break in North American motorsports. De Ferran drove for Hall’s IndyCar team in 1995 and 1996, with the pairing’s first victory coming at Laguna Seca in 1995.
“Being here for my last race, Jim being here, driving a Chaparral for the first time…it’s just great,” de Ferran said. “I could still be in the car now and be quite happy about it.”
10-12-2009, 11:46 AM
#4
Big Block go VROOOM!
Damn. That GT2 battle between Bergmeister and Magnussen was nuts. Too bad it ended the way it did. I personally think that both drivers should have been penalized for their actions. Since they were just just in front of the overall leader, however, I don't think that even a one lap penalty would have made any difference in the results.
10-14-2009, 05:55 AM
#5
AZ Community Team
Nice pictures, the white Chaparral CanAm scheme looks great for ALMS cars too. I assume that is Jim Hall on the left in the photo?
10-14-2009, 08:55 AM
#6
Senior Moderator
Thread Starter
Great race. I'm a big fan of Gil, so I'm very happy that he finished his driving career with a win at LS. Agree with all the comments that the Acura looks brilliant in white. I didn't realize that he took the #66 from Jim Hall, very classy thing to do.
@Billiam, I agree that both drivers should have been penalized. IMSA has them both on probation now, which seems light for what happened at the end. I also believe that Magnussen should have received a harsher penalty when he passed Bergmeister a few laps earlier at pit out. That was very reckless, since at LS, pitout is almost blind from the front straight due to the wall and the crest in the hill. If a car was exiting pit out at that exact moment, Magnussen would have clobbered him with no warning.
@Billiam, I agree that both drivers should have been penalized. IMSA has them both on probation now, which seems light for what happened at the end. I also believe that Magnussen should have received a harsher penalty when he passed Bergmeister a few laps earlier at pit out. That was very reckless, since at LS, pitout is almost blind from the front straight due to the wall and the crest in the hill. If a car was exiting pit out at that exact moment, Magnussen would have clobbered him with no warning.
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