Gil De Ferran Q&A
The de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-01B is now ready to hit the track, how much testing will you undertake before your first race at Miller Motorsports Park?
“We are trying to do as much testing as possible prior to our debut at Salt Lake City. We began the testing programme in Sebring last Monday and will return back to Florida for a second test before our race debut. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to run at Miller Motorsports Park before the race as well. de Ferran Motorsports is in a different situation from other teams, because we are not only looking at getting the car up to speed, we are also working at training the crew on pit stops, learning more about the Acura ARX-01B and gelling together as a team. We have an extensive list of tasks that we will be looking to complete during the testing programme.”
After all the work that has gone into creating the team, what is it like to see it all come to fruition?
“Considering this started as a conversation about a potential race team only a few of months ago, it is quite emotional to witness what has happened and see it evolve, develop and become reality. I was in the workshop last week and we had all our mechanics engineers and technicians there – we had more than 20 people working incredibly hard inside a facility which didn’t exist a couple of months ago. The car was nearly finished, the new truck had arrived and it suddenly it really hit me – wow, this is for real. All our guys on the team have pulled out a superhuman effort to pull all this together. This would not have been able to happen without all their hard work.”
How did you decide on Simon Pagenaud as your co-driver?
“Simon has a very good reputation in the industry - that was the first thing that attracted me to him. That goes beyond just his on-track results which of course have been very impressive. It is about the overall package – how he works with the team, his work ethic, fitness, how he relates with sponsors, etc. My old friends at Walker Racing spoke very highly of him - he won his Atlantic championship with them in 2006 and was very impressive in Champ Car last year.
Once I met Simon I found him to be a very impressive young man. He is very sure of what he wants and I think he has the type of personality that will work well with me and the rest of the team – this is very important. Simon is also a very young guy and has already had some great results – hopefully however, he is yet to reach his full potential.
As a team we can develop together. For de Ferran Motorsports, it is also important to have some young talent on board. I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel but I won't be driving forever. Simon has a very long career ahead of him and hopefully he will be with us for many years to come.
How important is it for your team to welcome a major sponsor like Panasonic prior to your debut?
"We are very honoured to have Panasonic supporting our programme. Having partners of this calibre is a tremendous endorsement for our race team – particularly in the early stage of our development. It is also great for the American Le Mans Series to welcome another high quality brand like Panasonic – it is a great to see companies like this recognise the potential of this series and the benefits it can provide. We will be working very hard to enable Panasonic to use our race team as a valuable marketing tool to promote the ELS Surround sound system."
Did you get involved in the development of the livery and look for de Ferran Motorsports?
"Personally, I have very much enjoyed the design process of the livery of the car and our entire corporate image.
I've been fortunate to work with Paul Fanner and his team. As my wife would say, everything has turned out to be very much 'me' which I kind of expected. I quite enjoy design and getting involved with this was a fun part of the project. We have worked on maintaining a consistent design language across every element of our team's presentation – the car, the uniforms, the logo, the truck, etc. Hopefully, you find it tasteful.
"Using the number 66 is very special for me. It is a number I have several connections with. I was number 6 through all the years I was racing with Penske but Roger is using that number in the American Le Mans Series at the moment.
I also raced number 66 in the Indy 500 back in 2001 and Roger used this number himself when he was racing. The number is also very famously connected with Jim Hall and Chapparal. For me, I wouldn't be where I am today without Jim and Roger so it is an honour to use this number. I am forever thankful to both of those guys for the role they played in my career.
How difficult has it been to create an entirely new race team from scratch? Have you been pleased with the personnel you have been able to recruit?
“We have been very fortunate that our programme seems to have generated quite a bit of interest within the industry.
I am delighted with the team of people we have
been able to assemble. We have a very experienced group of guys who come from a variety of backgrounds. We have a lot to learn but I feel we have a very good group together.
I’ve worked with a lot of them before include Chris Seaman (check spelling) who was my mechanic at Penske during my entire time with the team.”
You had a great reputation as a very intelligent driver during your single seater career and were known as “the professor”, do you think this attribute will transfer well to sportscar racing?
"I suppose I am flattered to be called intelligent and not sure whether I really deserved that nickname as I have certainly made my fair share of mistakes over my career. I can also only speak about sportscar racing at the moment as an outsider, because we haven't started a race yet – but my impression is that it is becoming long sprint events, rather than endurance races where you have to nurse the car. The technology in the car, the tyres and the engine means that nothing really goes off – so you really have to go flat out – you have to push as hard as you can for as long as you dare. In many ways they are like very long single seater races. With single seaters when I was racing before you had to nurse the brakes, look after the gearbox – that does not seem to be the case now. You certainly have to be smart in how you approach traffic and car set up, but you have to be able to push very hard all day.
Having visited the Sebring and St Petersburg races, was there anything specific you have learned from the sidelines?
"I've been keeping an eye on sportscar racing for a while and you can really see the transformation over the past few years. The fact you don't really need to nurse the car anymore is not just a factor in sportscar racing, it is becoming common in all forms of motorsport. The technology is just getting better and better. In F1 cars back in the 80s you had to look after the car, now you basically run flat out at qualifying pace for two hours. This will continue to be the case because you can not stop evolution."
How have you balanced your time between setting up your team, and getting back in race shape to get behind the wheel?
"As we are getting closer to hitting the track, my time split has been shifting. Obviously getting the team set up has taken a huge amount of my time, but now I am starting to concentrate on becoming a racing driver again. I have been working very hard on my fitness – both physical and mental fitness to prepare myself to get back behind the wheel.
"I am fairly satisfied with my increase in fitness over the period, but there is no substitute for miles in the car to really become race fit.
"There are a lot of the muscles in the body that become really stressed during a race and you can't really train them – you really just need track time."
Having had your own car throughout your career in single seaters, what will it be like to have to share the car and compromise on set-up, seat, pedal positions etc.?
"Having to share the car is all part of the learning process both as drivers and as a team. We have a lot of boxes we have to tick and this is certainly one of them. This will be very new for both Simon and I. That was why in selecting a driver, it was important we found somebody who could get on well, not just with myself, but with the entire team.
The crew are always vitally important, but because of the fact that these races are longer and you have a lot more pit stops, their efforts on race day become even more important. We are a young team and we are certain to make a few mistakes along the way, but we need to start somewhere.
you have raced against guys like Adrian Fernandez, Bryan Herta, Christian Fittipaldi and Scott Sharp a lot in the past, what will it be like to renew these rivalries?
"I've always had a very good relationship with some of these guys and it is funny now that most of them are now driving Acuras. We have been talking quite a bit about sportscar racing, but mostly about generalities, rather than specifics. All the guys have been very supportive and wishing me the best of luck – but probably not too much luck – you'll have to ask them about that! I am looking forward to racing against some old friends again."
What are you goals for your debut season?
"I don't really have any specific goals for our first year. I know what my long term objectives are, which is to create a winning operation with winning drivers and crew. That is what we have our sights set on. However, the way I operate, I really try not to daydream. It is really a big picture objective, but we have to keep our eye on the ball and concentrate on the issues that we will have to face. We'll navigate those waters carefully. The road to nirvana is not always a straight line. To walk that road well, you really have to be paying a lot of attention on the day-to-day and concentrating on each decision you make. I just to need to start running and make judgements on a day to day basis."
Q&A with Simon Pagenaud on next page
