Fort Lauderdale’s Gil de Ferran, an Indy 500 winner who ‘defined class,’ dies at age 56

Champion auto racer Gil de Ferran was a Brazilian born in France who lived in Fort Lauderdale and gained his greatest fame in Indianapolis and California. That covers only a few parts of the world expressing sorrow after de Ferran’s death Friday at 56.

A statement from Giovanni Guerra, president of the Brazilian Automobile Confederation, said a heart attack struck de Ferran at The Concours Club race track in Opa-locka.

“Gil de Ferran shone on Brazilian and international tracks, with emphasis on the British Formula 3 title, his second Indy championship (under the CART banner) and victory in the 2003 Indy 500,” Guerra said. “He also won as a driver and team owner in the American Endurance.

“On behalf of myself and the entire CBA family, we pray to God to receive our brother with all the glories and support of his family, friends and millions of fans around the world.”

McLaren Racing hired de Ferran as a consultant in May, the last month of May at Indianapolis for 2013 Indy 500 winner and 2004 IndyCar series champion Tony Kanaan.

Kanaan posted, “Champion, friend, rival, mentor at the track and outside of it. I have no words to describe this loss. May you rest in peace, my friend.”

What brings the mourning isn’t just de Ferran’s accomplishments behind the wheel, which include an Indianapolis 500 win, two IndyCar season series championships and overwhelming stretches in sportscar racing as well as a dominant season in the Formula 3 feeder series for Formula One.

OK, nobody else in any kind of car has run a lap at 241.428 mph. De Ferran set that closed course speed record at Fontana, California’s Auto Club Speedway, in qualifying for the 2000 Marlboro 500.

But he also was known as a class act. “Gil defined class as a driver and and as a gentleman,” Roger Penske, racing’s most successful owner, said in a statement.

Sportscar champion Johnny Mowlem posted, “No!! I don’t understand Life is SO unfair. One of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. He stayed a gentleman & humble even once he’d become a superstar.”

Racing to the top (almost)

Brazilian drivers of de Ferran’s age were inspired by seeing Emerson Fittipaldi’s 1972 and 1974 world titles as kids, Nelson Piquet’s 1981, 1983 and 1987 world titles as teens, and knowing of Ayrton Senna’s emerging breathtaking speed.

As the son of a Ford engineer and a kid with an engineering knack himself, de Ferran recalled to MotorSport magazine that their meticulousness kept them from having any “did not finish” results via mechanical problems during his hardcore go kart racing days.

After winning in Brazil’s Formula Ford series, de Ferran moved over to European Formula Fords where he met teammate David Coulthard and a team do-it-all administrator named Angela. De Ferran married Angela and remained close friends with Coulthard for decades.

A seven-win season brought him the 1992 Formula 3 championship and a test with Williams, F1’s top team at the time. Williams chose Coulthard to be their test driver, which became an F1 ride after Senna’s May 1994 death at the San Marino Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, de Ferran displayed his talent with three wins and two seconds over the 1993 and 1994 Formula 3000 seasons. Still, he needed a break. He got one in his head during a test with Arrows when he accidentally banged it on a truck door during a test, thus ending his day behind the wheel.

“I had talks with lots of teams, but they never led to anything,” de Ferran told MotoSport. “Maybe I was to naive, maybe they just didn’t think I was good enough. But, I could never get a straight answer, not even when I asked how much sponsorship I needed to bring.”

Autosport would rank de Ferran No. 11 among the 50 Best Drivers Who Never Raced in F1 as of 2013. For a comparison, four-time Indy 500 winners A.J. Foyt and Rick Mears are ranked Nos. 4 and 5.

Coming to America

While resting from another test crash injury in 1994, de Ferran got the break, but not in F1.

IndyCar owner Jim Hall needed a driver to test his Pennzoil-sponsored car. The snobbery toward IndyCar that runs through the F1 paddock didn’t exist in de Ferran. He’d seen former F1 world champions Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell and Mario Andretti run before packed stands at the 1993 Michigan 500 and figured if IndyCar was good enough for them, it was good enough for him.

A successful test told Hall that de Ferran was good enough for his Pennzoil car. Some questioned if de Ferran brought enough name value. Since sponsoring Hall’s excessively cool Pennzoil Chaparral in 1979, the yellow Pennzoil livery had been linked to names such as Al Unser, Sr., Johnny Rutherford, Rick Mears and Andretti (John).

The de Ferran name was known after the first day of qualifying for the 1995 IndyCar season oepner, the Grand Prix of Miami. He introduced himself to the series by zipping up Biscayne Boulevard and around Bicentennial Park with the day’s fastest time. The season finale at Laguna Seca brought de Ferran his first win and clinched Rookie of the Year for the series.

In IndyCar, de Ferran rolled as a Gen X link between 1989 and 1993 Indy 500 winner Fittipaldi and the early 21st century generation of Brazilian-born drivers that included future South Florida residents Kanaan and four-time Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves.

A move to Penske Racing brought de Ferran the 2000 and 2001 series titles. His 2003 Indianapolis 500 win blocked teammate and second-place Castroneves from becoming the first to win three in a row. The IndyCar career part of de Ferran’s career closed with a win at Texas.

His retirement lasted only until 2008 when he ran an Acura in the American Le Mans sportscar series with Simon Pagenaud sharing the driving with de Ferran. Over the course of two seasons, they ran 18 races and, in the last eight races, won five and finished second twice.

Another driver who reached his career peak driving for Penske, 2012 NASCAR series champion Brad Keselowski, posted, “His track record lap at Fontana will live on forever, trumped only by the praise from his fellow racers who always held him in the highest regard.”

De Ferran is survived by his wife, Angela, and children, Anna and Luke.