MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Gil de Ferran, a two-time CART champion and the 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner, has died.
According to reports, first from an international news outlet and at 8:25 the Associated Press, the 56-year-old de Ferran was victim of a cardiac arrest between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern Time Friday while driving a car at the Concours Club, a private track located in Opa-Locka, Florida, 25 minutes from downtown Miami.
His son, Luc, told an international news outlet that de Ferran stopped at the entrance of the pit area. Because there was not an accident, it took safety vehicles time to get to de Ferran’s car.
Ozz Negri, de Ferran’s friend and longtime sports car driver, was also at the scene.
“We are terribly saddened to hear about today’s tragic passing of Gil de Ferran,” Roger Penske, chairman of Penske Corporation said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Angela, Anna, Luke and the entire de Ferran family. Gil defined class as a driver and as a gentleman. As an IndyCar champion and an Indianapolis 500 winner, Gil accomplished so much during his career, both on and off the track.”
De Ferran competed for Penske from 2000-’03.
“Gil was beloved by so many. He was a great friend to the Team Penske and IndyCar family, as well as the entire international motorsports community,” Penske continued. “Gil’s passing is a terrible loss, and he will be deeply missed.”
De Ferran was one of the most competitive, and classiest, drivers of his era. The Brazilian led a very interesting life.
He was born in Paris, France, but moved to Brazil when he was four. As a youth, he was a foreign exchange student in Wisconsin, where his daily chores included milking cows on a dairy farm while in high school.
His racing career began in karting as a teenager. He competed in Europe and won the 1992 English Formula 3 title.
By 1995, de Ferran had made it to CART, driving for the legendary Jim Hall in the famed yellow Pennzoil car. In his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500, de Ferran started 19th in the Mercedes/Reynard, but was one of many cars involved in the horrific Stan Fox crash in turn one at the start of the race. He was credited with a 29th place finish out of 33 cars.
Most of the CART teams boycotted the Indianapolis 500 over the creation of the rival Indy Racing League in 1996 and that was the last Indy 500 de Ferran competed in until 2001.
He drove for Hall from 1995-’96, before moving to Walker Racing in 1997. He remained with Walker Racing until team owner Roger Penske and then newly hired Team Penske President Tim Cindric tabbed de Ferran to help revitalize their struggling racing team at the end of the 1999 season.
De Ferran was set to be teammates with Greg Moore on a powerful two-car Team Penske effort beginning in 2000, but Moore was killed the day after the announcement in a crash in turn two at California Speedway in the final CART race of the season on October 31, 1999.
Moore’s ride went to Helio Castroneves.
Together, de Ferran and Castroneves were a dynamic duo. De Ferran won the CART championship in 2000 and 2001. Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 in 2001 and 2002 – the first two of his record-tying four Indy 500 victories.
In 2002, Team Penske left CART to join the Indy Racing League full time.
In 2003, de Ferran drove to victory in the Indianapolis 500, narrowly defeating Castroneves, who was attempting to become the first driver in history to win three-straight Indy 500s. Later that season, de Ferran gave Team Penske its 100th IndyCar victory at Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania.
“Gil de Ferran was an Indianapolis 500 winner who has always represented the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ with pure class,” J. Douglas Boles, president, Indianapolis Motor Speedway said. “A true champion in open-wheel racing, Gil’s thrilling win at Indianapolis put an exclamation point on his tremendous career.
“It was always a highlight every May when Gil would return to the speedway, where he always spent time with fans and friends. We were fortunate to honor him and celebrate the 20th anniversary of his win this past May. Our hearts and deepest sympathies go to Angela, their children and all his family and friends.”
De Ferran retired from IndyCar racing at the end of that season with seven wins in CART and five in the Indy Racing League for a total of 12 IndyCar wins.
De Ferran would drive in sports cars later in his career before becoming a team principal in Formula One and later an executive with Honda Performance Development. He was also an IndyCar team owner for a brief time.
“He was one of my best friends and we grew up together and lately and we worked together at McLaren,” 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan told The Associated Press. “In the beginning of this year he was a mentor, helping me out. I lost a dear friend. I am devastated. I have to say, he went in Gil style, driving a racecar. If I could choose a way to go, that’s what I could do.”
He was runner-up in LMP1 class of the American Le Mans Series in 2009 driving for his self-owned de Ferran Motorsports.
In 2000 at California Speedway, de Ferran set the closed-course land speed record during CART qualifying with a lap of 241.428 mph — a mark that stands today.
“It is heartbreaking to learn of the loss of Gil de Ferran. His accomplishments on the race track were significant, but I, along with so many in our paddock, were fortunate to know how wonderful he was as a person,” Mark Miles, president and CEO, Penske Entertainment Corp. said. “Gil was a true IndyCar ambassador whose charm and wit were second to none. Our condolences are with the de Ferran family during this difficult time.”
De Ferran is survived by his wife, Angela, daughter Ana, and son, Luke. Ana has become a DJ at Formula One races around the world.