{"id":356355,"date":"2023-12-30T03:38:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-30T04:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=356355"},"modified":"2023-12-30T05:01:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-30T05:01:33","slug":"a-proper-wheelman-fastest-man-in-motorsport-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=356355","title":{"rendered":"'A proper wheelman': Fastest man in motorsport dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gil de Ferran, the 2003 Indianapolis 500<\/a> winner and holder of the closed-course land speed record has died.<\/p>\n

The Brazilian suffered a heart attack while driving with his son at a motorsport<\/a> resort in Florida. He was 56.<\/p>\n

In 2000 at California Speedway, de Ferran set the closed-course land speed record during CART qualifying with a lap of 241.428 mph \u2014 a mark that stands today.<\/p>\n

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Fellow Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan said de Ferran was with his son, Luke, at the private Concours Club i when he pulled over and said he wasn't feeling well.<\/p>\n

Kanaan said de Ferran apparently suffered a heart attack and could not be revived.<\/p>\n

\"Driver<\/p>\n

When de Ferran won the 2003 Indy 500 for Roger Penske, it was the third-consecutive win in the \u201cGreatest Spectacle in Racing\u201d for Penske, who has now amassed a record 19 victories in the iconic Memorial Day weekend race.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are terribly saddened to hear about today\u2019s tragic passing of Gil de Ferran. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Angela, Anna, Luke and the entire de Ferran family," Roger Penske said in a statement.<\/p>\n

"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.<\/p>\n

"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. Gil\u2019s passing is a terrible loss and he will be deeply missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarioAndretti\/status\/1740924777664328188<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/Hinchtown\/status\/1740919368698237351<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/IndyCar\/status\/1740945333822120144<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/jamespavey_\/status\/1740925294754811936<\/a><\/p>\n

Kanaan said he was "devastated\u201d at the loss of the Brazilian icon.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was one of my best friends and we grew up together and lately and we worked together at McLaren,\u201d Kanaan told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Brazilian Motorsports Confederation confirmed de Ferran suffered a fatal heart attack in a statement issued by president Giovanni Guerra.<\/p>\n

Juan Pablo Montoya, the 2000 and 2015 IndyCar champion said: \u201cCrazy sad news. Amazing guy and great racer.\u201d Montoya won the 2015 Indy 500 for Penske.<\/p>\n

\"McLaren<\/p>\n

The French-born Brazilian was rehired at McLaren as a consultant in May. He had been sporting director of McLaren's failed effort to qualify Fernando Alonso for the 2019 Indy 500.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone at McLaren Racing is shocked and deeply saddened to learn we have lost a beloved member of our or McLaren family,\u201d the team posted on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sent our deepest condolences to Gil de Ferran's family, friends and loved ones.<\/p>\n

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown was a long time friend of de Ferran's.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am shocked and devastated to hear of the loss of a great friend and he teammate,\u201d he wrote on social media.<\/p>\n

\"Gil<\/p>\n

"I've raced with Gil all over the world and watched him win some of the biggest races.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe's been a great friend for over 20 years and will be greatly missed and never forgotten. My deepest condolences to his family. RIP Gil. The next win is for you! Goodspeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Ferran won the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car titles driving for Penske, and the 2003 Indy 500 with Penske, as well. He was runner-up in LMP1 class of the American Le Mans Series in 2009 driving for his self-owned de Ferran Motorsports.<\/p>\n

Marco Andretti was one of dozens of drivers to post their respects on on social media. His included a photo of de Ferran that said \u201cMy friend. One of the real ones. One of the reasons for my F1 tests. Loved your passion and love for our sport, Thank you for what you contributed to my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gil<\/p>\n

De Ferran was inspired to race by fellow Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi and started his career in karting before embarking on a career in the European ladder system. He lost the British Formula Three title to countryman Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard in 1991, but won the title the next season.<\/p>\n

He won seven CART races and five IndyCar races, finishing second in the 2003 standings. He joined Team Penske in 2000.<\/p>\n

De Ferran is survived by his wife, Angela, daughter Anna, and son, Luke. Anna has become a DJ at Formula One races around the world and the entire family had been posting festive Christmas photos over the last week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gil de Ferran, the 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner and holder of the closed-course land speed record has died. The Brazilian suffered a heart attack while […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":356357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356355"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=356355"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":356362,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356355\/revisions\/356362"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/356357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=356355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=356355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=356355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}