CART champion a winner again

Mike Harris

Thursday, Oct. 4, 2001 | 10:06 a.m.

HOUSTON - It wasn't exactly relief Gil de Ferran felt when he took the checkered flag in England two weeks ago, cutting a season-long winless string. It was more like fulfillment.

"I have to say I tried very hard to avoid getting frustrated," the CART champion said. "Certainly, as a driver, as a team, you want to win every race."

But de Ferran kept plugging away, buoyed by the belief that he had the tools to win. His patience was rewarded in the Rockingham 500, the closing event of CART's two weeks of racing in Europe.

"When we don't win, you can't lose your head and throw the car in the wall or in the gravel trap," he said. "We've been very competitive. I think this year we've been in a position to win a number of times, but unfortunately it hasn't really come our way."

Still, the 33-year-old Brazilian was scoring points, feeling that better days were ahead. Penske Racing provided him with a consistently competitive car, allowing de Ferran to remain within striking distance of a second championship.

"From my analysis of it, we hadn't had a weekend yet where we all came together. It was mostly circumstantial more than anything else. I mean, it was kind of almost like a nobody's-fault sort of thing."

Now de Ferran not only has his first victory since July 2000 in Portland. He also is poised for a stretch run at the title.

As he prepares to race Sunday on this city's streets, de Ferran is just six points behind leader Kenny Brack. De Ferran comes into the Texaco-Havoline Grand Prix as the hottest driver on the circuit.

He has five top-five finishes - including a win, a pair of seconds, and a third - in the last six events. And the victory on the Rockingham oval might prove just the catalyst he needed.

The analytical driver should have a small edge in the remaining four races, because two of them are on street courses here and in Surfers Paradise, Australia, and a third on the Laguna Seca road course in Monterey, Calif. De Ferran is at his best on the serpentine layouts that comprise more than half the CART schedule.

Brack's series-leading four victories have come on ovals, and it took a sensational pass on the final lap for de Ferran to beat the Swedish driver on the new one in England.

"We certainly haven't been running particularly well on the ovals this year," de Ferran said. "Looking forward to Houston and Laguna and Australia, I would be disappointed if I was off the pace. But, then again, I think Kenny will be strong, too."

Brack agrees, and isn't just pinning his hopes on the season finale Nov. 4 on the two-mile California Speedway oval.

"I think that we've been very fast on road courses, although people haven't been able to see it for some reason," Brack said. "We've had two pole positions and we've been running up front.

"We've had problems and been off the pace on some tracks, but I think that we've found out why. I think we'll have an unpleasant surprise for other people when we get to those races."

Neither de Ferran nor Brack believes, however, that the championship will be simply a two-man battle.

Heading into Sunday's race, Michael Andretti is 22 points behind, and Helio Castroneves, de Ferran's teammate, trails by 24. Also in the picture are Cristiano da Matta and Dario Franchitti, 55 and 58 points back respectively with 88 remaining to be won.

"We've got to keep pushing," de Ferran said. "I certainly don't see Kenny as the only contender. I think certainly Helio and Michael, and perhaps to a lesser extent Cristiano and Dario, are right there.

"It's going to be an exciting finish. At this point it's hard to say what's going to happen."

Team Rahal driver Brack said the record-tying 11 different winners this season shows how tight the title chase really is.

"It's a championship that's very unpredictable and very difficult," he said. "Obviously, the drivers with the Penske team are strong, and Michael is going to be there. I would be surprised if anyone else would come into play at this stage, but you know Dario has been very fast, so it's always a possibility."