De Ferran Puts New Spin to Qualifying

Gil de Ferran has won five poles this CART season, but none came the way he captured the No. 1 position for today’s Honda Grand Prix of Monterey with a lap of 117.453 mph at Laguna Seca Raceway.

De Ferran and Helio Castroneves, his Penske teammate and fellow Brazilian, had been waging a tense duel for the pole, swapping the top spot back and forth during the 30-minute session on the 2.2-mile hillside road course when de Ferran slid off course and spun out with two minutes remaining.

At the same time, Castroneves was putting together a hot lap around the 11 twisting turns, a lap he was sure would put him on the pole.

But de Ferran’s spin and backward slide into the tire barriers at Turn 3 brought out a red flag that not only caused his teammate to stop, but also brought an end to the qualifying session.

“It was disappointing, that’s for sure,” said Castroneves, who won the race from the pole last year. “Thirty more seconds was all I needed.”

Castroneves’ best lap was 117.313 mph, but he insisted that “I was going better than that when I saw the red flag. Maybe I can make up for my disappointment in the race.”

Both drove red and white turbocharged Honda-powered Reynards for Marlboro Team Penske.

“It’s nice to be on the pole, but it’s not the way I wanted to end the session,” said de Ferran, the defending series champion. “I made a mistake. I can’t say anything else.”

Winning the pole earned de Ferran one point in the tight CART championship series, giving him a 164 to 153 lead over 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack, who recently revealed that he was leaving Bobby Rahal’s team next year to drive for Chip Ganassi.

An unseasonable 88-degree day on the Monterey peninsula prevented de Ferran from bettering Castroneves’ year-old track record of 118.969 mph.

De Ferran and Castroneves, both from Sao Paulo and close friends off the track, said their success stemmed from pushing each other in testing, in practice, in qualifying and in races.

“We both work very hard, our engineers work very hard and we talk a lot,” said Castroneves. “It all benefits the team in getting a better car than anyone else. Both of us work at a high level.”

Castroneves has won three races and de Ferran two, including last week’s wire-to-wire performance on the streets of Houston.

De Ferran was asked if either received orders from team boss Roger Penske.

Pointing toward the sky, de Ferran jokingly replied, “You mean God. His only orders are not to hit each other.”

When most other teams are shifting drivers in wholesale changes for 2002, Team Penske has been a rock of solidity. Penske, disappointed after a series of losing seasons, made his wholesale changes before the 2000 season, bringing in two Brazilian drivers to replace Al Unser Jr., appointed Tim Cindric president and switched from Mercedes-powered Penskes to Honda-powered Reynards.

The team responded with de Ferran winning the championship and Castroneves winning three races. No changes were made for 2001.

“It has been a dream year for me,” Castroneves said. “Winning the Indianapolis 500 was a great achievement. I am a blessed person.”

Rookie Scott Dixon, a 21-year-old New Zealander driving a Toyota-Reynard for PacWest, was third fastest at 116.813 mph.

Brian Herta, a two-time winner at Monterey, appeared to qualify No. 5, but his Ford-Reynard failed a height test and was disqualfied. He will start last in the 26-car field.