Interviews

Planetlemans talks To Adrián Fernández

© Fernandez racing

Interview by Gabriel Portos

It could be just another day at the office at Fernández Racing Headquarters. With a few weeks to go until the opening of the American Le Mans 2007 Series the Mexican lead driver and team owner is relaxed and found some time to share with us his views on the upcoming challenge.

PLM- Adrián, the last few years you have been involved in IRL, Nascar, GrandAm, why did you choose now for the ALMS?

AF- It was actually a great opportunity brought to us through the Acura relationship. The cars are very attractive, the series is very good and the long standing relationship with the Honda family made the choice pretty simple. We have learned a lot through our GrandAm experience to be competitive in Endurance and our main sponsor Lowe’s is also very committed to our team since we are Latin American and they are now expanding their market in that region.

© Fernandez Racing

PLM-Any other plans for 2007?

AF-No, we will commit fully to the ALMS, I might do a race or two in Mexico but we are focused on the ALMS calendar.

PLM-How did you choose the Lola chassis?

AF-Well, we were the first to accept Acura’s proposal hence we got first choice. Acura wanted their teams to run one Lola to develop the engine and two Courages to develop the chassis. The car looks and feels absolutely fabulous, I am thrilled to drive it.

PLM-During the Sebring winter testing you were very quickly in the pace of the Porsches, how do you rate your chances against them in LMP2?

AF-Today’s LMP2 is an extremely competitive class in ALMS, knowing you have the speed is very important but the key here is to finish races, not just a quick lap. We are very fortunate to have Luis Díaz in our team, Luis has raced with Chip Ganassi in GrandAm for some years now so he’s used to the traffic, pit stops and long races. His experience will be invaluable to us. On top of that we have had almost a half year to prepare. When we moved to the GrandAm series we only knew in December what we would do the year after… I am sure we can be a surprise, the car is clearly very very quick. Acura is helping us a lot to iron out some last minor reliability glitches but the car is extremely solid.

© Fernandez racing

PLM-Will you have a 3^rd driver in the long races like Sebring or Petit Le Mans?

AF- Yes, we will. Just in case anything happens we need a backup. I will be making the announcement pretty soon, we’re working on it.

PLM-I spotted a race in June at Le Mans in your website’s 2007 ALMS calendar, is this in your plans?

AF-(laughing) No, no, the plan is potentially for 2008. We are planning to attend the race this year as spectators, I have been to France and other countries in Europe but not yet to the Le Mans 24 Hours.

PLM-Do you know it is addictive? Once you go there you just keep coming back…

AF-Yes, everyone keeps telling me that. I am very interested in feeling the atmosphere and being there, it sounds like a great experience.
PLM-Let’s talk about Sebring, how’s the team feeling about that?

AF-Extremely motivated. We have a very experienced team with a solid pit stop routine and we are all very positive about the race. Luis and I have been working a lot on both the physical side and on the car, our preparation has been thorough and we’re really looking forward to it.

PLM-We have a Mexican team in ALMS, an LMS race in Brazil, do you think the Latin American fans will get into endurance racing?

AF-The cars are very attractive, they are very very fast, this is what Latin Americans like! I do hope the series keeps the momentum, the growth… I am thrilled when I get into the cockpit, the driving feels also very special. These are by far the most beautiful and spectacular cars to see and drive, I’d love to be able to drive prototypes for many many years.

Thanks to Tamy and Adrián for their kindness.

gabriel@planetlemans.com