Today we also remember Gil de Ferran, born on this day in 1967. Gil was a double IndyCar Champion, Indianapolis 500 winner & British F3 champion. The Paris-born Brazilian began karting in the 1980s before moving to British Formula Ford in 1987. By 1991 he had joined Edenbridge Racing in British F3 and impressively took 3rd overall behind countryman Rubens Barrichello, and David Coulthard He switched to Paul Stewart Racing for 1992 & won the championship after 7 wins & 7 podiums ahead of Philippe Adams. Two years in F3000 brought 4th & 3rd in 1993 & 1994, earning Gil a test with the Footwork F1 team - a test compromised by a badly cut head after walking into a motorhome door. There was a later test with Williams but Gil opted to move Stateside in the CART series in 1995 with Hall/VDS Racing for what would be the first of 9 years. He took a first win in Las Vegas in 1995 having taken a first podium in Vancouver the week before, then won the opening race of 1996. Three years with Walker racing brought another win in Portland before a big move came in 2000, to Team Penske with whom Gil spent 5 seasons. 7 podiums (2 wins) in 16 races saw him win the now-IndyCar title, secured with 3rd at Fontana. He added a 2nd consecutive title in 2001, finishing runner up in Indy 500 - two years later he went one better, winning the great race from team-mate Helio Castroneves. In 2000 de Ferran set a closed circuit lap record at the California Speedway - an AVERAGE of 241.428 mph In all he won 12 of his 160 CART/IndyCar races. Gil also ran & raced teams in IMSA & IndyCar, and was Sporting Director at BAR Honda, McLaren and more. He sadly left us in December 2023 following a suspected heart attack while racing alongside his son in a private event in Florida - he was just 56. A terrific racer and a lovely man Rest In Peace, Gil 🇧🇷 #restinpeace #brazil #mclaren #IndyCar #f1 #F3 #penske #honda #brasil