Photo: Manningmbd / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Gil de Ferran is a reminder of how international motorsport really is. Born near Paris but racing as a Brazilian, he became a back-to-back Champ Car champion with Team Penske in 2000 and 2001, then capped it with the 2003 Indianapolis 500, which is the win every open-wheel driver dreams about. What I respect most is that he didn't just drive fast and disappear. He built his own team, de Ferran Motorsports, and pushed into endurance racing with a strong American Le Mans Series run. His death in 2023 closed a career that spanned the sport from cockpit to ownership, and that breadth is what stays with me.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Gil de Ferran
- Name (Japanese)
- ジル・ド・フェラン
- Reading
- じる・ど・ふぇらん
- Born
- November 11, 1967 – December 29, 2023
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Goat
- Origin
- Fontenay-aux-Roses, Hauts-de-Seine, France
- Occupation
- racing automobile driver
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Gil de Ferran born?
November 11, 1967 – December 29, 2023.
Where is Gil de Ferran from?
Gil de Ferran is from Fontenay-aux-Roses, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
What does Gil de Ferran do?
Gil de Ferran works as racing automobile driver.
Racing automobile driver — see all → · More people from France →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.