Hot on the heels of the rain-soaked Petit Le Mans, the American Le Mans Series has traveled to the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the final round of the 2009 season. While most of the championships will be decided this weekend, it was Gil de Ferran who grabbed most of the attention. The 41 year old Brazilian is set to conclude his driving career in great style. In honour of his former team-boss and mentor Jim Hall, he has repainted his Acura ARX-02a in the style of the legendary Chaparral built by Hall in the 1960s. Ahead of the on-track activities the livery was revealed with Jim Hall in attendance. Hall, De Ferran and his team-mate Simon Pagenaud next took to the track in two of the classic Chaparrals and the Acura. The 2003 Indy 500 winner piloted this 1963 - 1965 Chaparral 2 Chevrolet - Images, Specifications and Information.
Later in the day De Ferran also topped the timing sheets in the first free practice session in the all-white #66 Acura. Today's qualifying session can be seen live on SpeedTV.com at 6 pm Eastern Time.
A full preview by John Dagys can be found here:
AUTO-RACING - ALMS: Laguna Seca Race Preview - SPEEDtv.com
A look at Gil de Ferran's long racing career by Marshall Pruett:
AUTO-RACING - ALMS: A Farewell To De Ferran - SPEEDtv.com
A video of Gil de Ferran in the Chaparral 2:
SPEEDtv.com Videos
Attached pictures courtesy of Marshall Pruett