Gil played a high speed game of "Operation," working his way to the front of the field in his Acura without the slightest touch of body contact. (Photo: Marshall Pruett) » More Photos

“Now, with our debut behind us, I can declare myself extremely pleased with our performance. Although it was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, having the fastest car, finishing in the podium and challenging for a pole and a win in our first race was a great accomplishment for our young team. Hopefully we will be able to build from this great start.”

After his 'oops' at the end of qualifying and resulting need to carve through the field, was it as much fun for Gil behind the wheel as it appeared to be?

“In qualifying I was doing my best to capitalize on the speed I knew we had. As a driver, I almost take as much pride in my qualifying performances over my career as I do from race wins. I have always loved qualifying; it is a very pure part of our sport where all that matters is speed! So...I guess my uncompromising approach and determination to put the car on the pole led to my mistake! Hopefully in future events I will be able to rectify this without loosing the edge!

Get used to this sight; Pagenaud and de Ferran declared their intent to assert themselves as the top prototype in the American Le Mans Series. (Photo: Marshall Pruett) » More Photos

“In the race I was very calm once it all started; frankly, I was surprised myself how serene I felt! It is always hard to get good balance between driving hard and taking too many risks; I was glad that we were able to get back to the front without incident! And...yes...it was a lot of fun!”

After a number of private test sessions, de Ferran obviously found his outright speed, but his racecraft was something he could only reestablish once the green flag waved in the race. Despite giving the appearances of being back to 100% during his race stint, de Ferran believes he still has some work to do.

“As I mentioned above, I was not particularly pleased with my own driving performance in qualifying and I am sure there are other aspects of my driving which I can improve upon. In fact, it doesn't matter how experienced one is, I always try to analyze my own performances deeply and carefully, because there is always some aspects which can be improved, even when ultimate success is achieved!”

Compared to his Indy 500 trophy, the SPEEDtv.com ALMS 'Drive of the Race' award isn't world famous, but hopefully it won’t get buried too far down in Gil’s basement?

Any award is flattering, welcomed and unexpected! Subjective awards, such as the SPEEDtv.com 'Drive of the Race', are particularly so, because it originates from expert people from within the industry that take a deeper look at the event beyond the final result. In Motorsports, at times some great performances go unnoticed because they don't result in the ultimate prize, so i am glad you have instituted this award and I am even more thankful to be the recipient of it. Hopefully we will be deserving of the same honor at some point in the future.”

“Having said that, I must tell you, I will not be displacing the BORG WARNER Indy 500 trophy in my cabinet in favor of the SPEEDtv.com one, no offense intended; I am sure you understand!...”

None taken, Gil.


Watch SPEEDtv.com's interview with de Ferran and Pagenaud from Utah.

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