Jim Hall in the Chaparral 2E, Gil de Ferran in the Chapparal 2 and Simon Pagenaud in the Acura ARX-02b circulate at Laguna Seca. Credit: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
By Michael T. Lynch
Believe it or not, there are occasional heartwarming automotive stories that have nothing to do with French or Italian cars. This one concerns Paris-born (to Brazilian parents) Gil de Ferran, who came to the United States to join Hall/VDS Racing in 1995.
He had good relations with his team owner, Jim Hall, and de Ferran won CART Rookie of the Year honors that year as well as the Laguna Seca finale. His single-seater win total in US racing reached 13 and he won CART season titles in 2000 and 2001 and the Indianapolis 500 in 2003 driving for Roger Penske. He retired from single-seaters that year and went on to start de Ferran Motorsports and compete in the American Le Mans Series as both an entrant and driver.
Gil decided to retire from driving completely after this year’s ALMS finale, held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, in order to concentrate on growing his team to compete in both the ALMS and the IRL next year. De Ferran never forgot that Jim Hall brought him to America to race, or that his first win was in Hall’s car at the Champ Car finale at Laguna Seca, so for his last race he changed the livery of his Acura to one similar to Jim Hall’s Chaparral sports cars that saw such success in the 1960s, sometimes driven by Hall himself.
Hall was so touched by this gesture that he brought three of his Chaparrals from the Petroleum Museum in Midland Texas to California for the race. One was the car de Ferran had won with here in 1995. The crowd was thrilled when two of the white Texas wonders, with Jim Hall in the high-winged Chaparral 2E and Gil in the Chaparral 2, joined de Ferran’s ALMS co-driver, Simon Pagenaud in the Acura for some hot laps.
Jim Hall (L) and Gil de Ferran pose in front of de Ferran’s Acura at Laguna Seca. Note the number graphic, taken straight from Jim Hall’s Chaparral of the 1960s. Credit: ALMS
Previously, de Ferrarn talked about his days with Hall, “There was definitely an affinity there. From an intellectual standpoint, I really get on well with Jim. I remember people talking to me, whispering, ‘How are you getting on with Jim?’ Because I guess Jim had this reputation of being a really hard guy. I was like, ‘Fantastically well!’ I really enjoyed him. I enjoyed his intellect. I enjoyed his personality, even though he was a 60-year-old Texan and I was a 27-year-old Brazilian. We were from two different planets nearly.”
De Ferran and Fernandez were usually this close during the battle of the Acuras in the closing minutes of the four hour race at Laguna Seca. Credit: American Le Mans Series.
For the four-hour race, de Ferran qualified on the pole. He and Pagenaud led most of the way, but as the darkness intensified, the Adrian Fernandez/Luis Diaz Acura ARX-01b was closing with less than an hour to go. De Ferran’s Acura was in the P1 class and had more power, but the Fernandez P2 car was more nimble. The latter had already won the P2 Championship and the de Ferran car had no shot at the P1 title, so both teams’ only consideration was the overall victory. The battle waxed and waned as the opposing crews instructed their drivers to adjust their fuel mapping according to what fuel was computed to remain. Twice in the last twenty minutes, Fernandez got by in the final corner, only to be out dragged down the long straightaway. De Ferran finally prevailed, providing the storybook ending most had hoped for. It was de Ferran Motorsports’ fifth win of the year. David Brabham took the series title in another Acura ARX-02b.
The only Italian entrant in the field, the Jamie Melo/Pierre Kaffer Ferrari F430 GT, entered by Risi Competizioni, was leading the GT class an hour and a half into the event when a collision with Mark Goossens’ Jaguar XJR ended the Ferrari’s race. The Risi team won the class at three of the year’s biggest events, Sebring, Le Mans and the Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
The GT class at Laguna was won by the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 RSR of Jorg Burgmeister/Patrick Long on the last lap, after a nasty bumping incident with the Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell Corvette C that sent Magnussen into the wall. After a nose-in impact, the shattered Corvette slid smoking across the line to salvage second, with the Porsche winning the series GT title.
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With two classes undecided until the final lap, Laguna Seca retains its reputation for equalizing various cars performance strengths and weaknesses. De Ferran’s weekend shows that every now and then, the good guys win. The American Le Mans Series, with multiple technical solutions seen on track and four classes racing for class and overall placings is our last link with the long-vanished glory days of U.S. endurance racing. Check out one of these events when you can.