Racetrack Insider - News and Views of the Motorsports Industry from Insiders Drew Patey and Buddy Judy

Gil de Ferran Wins for Safety-Kleen at Laguna

Gil de Ferran announced his retirement last month and this weekend he went out in style winning his last race of his driving career in the American Le Mans Series finale at Laguna Seca. But de Ferran and team-mate Simon Pagenaud's race win was not enough to prevent Highcroft's David Brabham and Scott Sharp from clinching the year end title. While de Ferran and Pagenaud led the majority of the four-hour race, Highcroft had to deal with gearbox problems and tough driving conditions all afternoon. The Championship was in sight all day as Sharp and Brabham cruised home in third place, having secured the title once they reached the 70 per cent distance required to be classified as a points finisher. De Ferran's toughest rival in the first half of the race was the bio-butanol Dyson Lola-Mazda LMP2, which had to miss qualifying and was not permitted to score due to its experimental fuel. The car tore through the field from the back of the grid and mid-race yellows allowed Guy Smith to hassle de Ferran for a while - until contact with Olivier Beretta's GT2 Corvette damaged the Dyson Lola's suspension. Then in the final stint, Safety-Kleen driver Adrian Fernandez charged onto de Ferran's tail as the Brazilian tried to stretch his fuel mileage and double-stint his final set of tires. The LMP2 car squeezed ahead into the last corner with 24 minutes to go, but lost out to the LMP1 Acura's horsepower on the pits straight. Fernandez tried his utmost, but ultimately had to be content with second and another class win. Their LMP2 rivals Butch Leitzinger and Marino Franchitti (Dyson) retired early. Thanks to Erdie San Diego and the Safety-Kleen crew from San Jose for servicing Laguna Seca all year. The track is located two hours south of the branch and these guys consistently worked at making the Track Recycling Center a work of art. Great job!