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Pennzoil Driver - Gil de Ferran 1995 - Pennzoil Sponsors The First LIVE webast on the INDY 500
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[ The Mechanic ] [ Summer 1996 ]

Driver - Gil de Ferran 1995

One of the fastest rising stars in the IndyCar circuit is Gil de Ferran, who drives the Pennzoil Reynard Honda owned by Hall Racing. The handsome, Brazilian-born de Ferran was a popular choice for "Rookie of the Year" at the end of the 1995 IndyCar season. He won his title in point competition with one of the circuit's best groups of rookies in years. During the season, he registered his first IndyCar win at Laguna Seca and his first pole position in Cleveland, as well as five top-ten finishes.

Although he was largely unknown to auto racing fans in the United States when he was chosen to drive the Pennzoil Indy car, De Ferran quickly showed his promise by capturing the provisional pole for the season's first race, the Miami Grand Prix, on the first day he drove the Pennzoil car competitively. Racing aficionados say he's the man to watch at the U.S. 500ª this year.

Success in his rookie year follows a pattern in de Ferran's career. He came to the Pennzoil Indy- Car team with an impressive record. In his last assignment, European Formula 3000, he drove for Jackie Stewart's team to the doorstep of the championship.

A FIVE-YEAR-Old ON A GO-CART

As a five-year-old in Sao Paolo, Brazil, de Ferran loved to drive go-carts. Supervised by his father, he would wheel his own cart around empty parking lots for fun every chance he got. He drove a detuned cart that had been given to his father by a friend. The young de Ferran crashed, rolled it over, caught it on fire, drove it underneath parked cars and did many of the things that terrorize parents. Even so, his family encouraged him to pursue go-cart racing because he used good sense and observed safety practices. These boyhood experiences led to his first important racing decision as a 14-year-old.

De Ferran's parents offered to buy him a racing cart if he would take and pass a difficult entrance exam to a preferred high school. De Ferran calculated his odds against pulling it off at 20-to-1, but he accepted the challenge and passed the test. He then had to keep his grades up to continue cart racing.

FROM GO-CARTS TO FORMULA FORD

From cart racing, de Ferran moved into Brazil's Formula Ford championship series where, in 1987, he was the champion with five wins. In 1988, he dropped out of college and went to Europe to hone his skills as a race car driver. Determined to find out if he had the talent to make it in international motor racing, he raised $50,000 from friends and sponsors to move to England.

De Ferran eventually scraped together enough money to get into a Formula 3 race, where he qualified on the pole for his class (B) and carried on a classic duel with David Brabham before finishing second. Rick Gorne of Reynard saw his performance and recruited him for the company's Formula Ford 1600 team. In '89 de Ferran finished third in both of England's Formula Ford series, with four wins in each and the most pole positions.

NEXT STOP: FORMULA 3

Gorne introduced De Ferran to the Paul Stewart team, operated by Jackie Stewart. Stewart invited de Ferran to a tryout at Donington Park, where the young driver broke the track record and was signed to the Stewart team. He won two races in 1990 and finished third in two series championships. From there he was picked up by the Reynard R&D team to drive in Formula 3 races, where he scored three wins and finished third in points. Back he went to Jackie Stewart in 1992, and he won seven races on the way to the British Formula 3 title. During the 1994 season, he was tied for the lead until the last race at Magny Cours, France, when another driver ran into him early in the race, knocking his car out and ruining his championship bid. He finished third in total points for the season.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

In the meantime, de Ferran got married and settled into a home in Surrey, England. Formula 1 racing had been his goal, but another key opportunity presented itself. During a telephone conversation with Jim Hall, Pennzoil's IndyCar team owner, a Reynard factory rep learned that there might be a chance for de Ferran to test the Pennzoil Indy car. At the end of the season, an offer was extended and a deal was made between de Ferran and the Pennzoil racing team. De Ferran put aside his Formula 1 ambitions for a chance to move up in class to Indy car racing, where he earned his "Rookie of the Year" title.

De Ferran is a voracious reader, devouring books on topics ranging from motor racing to mysteries. His musical tastes range from classical to pop, rock and the up-tempo tunes of his homeland. He is also a student of world affairs and avidly follows the news. Earlier this year, his wife, the former Angela Buckland of the Motoring News publishing family, gave birth to the couple's first child, Anna Elisabeth.

A SHOT AT THE U.S. 500

In May, de Ferran will take part in the U.S. 500 race at Michigan International Speedway. Observers say he has a better-than-good shot at winning the race. Watch the race on ESPN on May 26 and see a champion in action!

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