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De Ferran excited about building team

Gil de Ferran, who will compete in the American Le Mans Series with his own team this year, says it wasn't the challenge of returning to the cockpit that called him out of retirement as much as the challenge of starting a team from scratch

De Ferran, the two-time CART champion who won the Indianapolis 500 in 2003 and later became sporting director of Honda's Formula One team, will field an Acura-backed team in the LMP2 division of the American Le Mans Series later this season.

He'll serve as the primary driver for de Ferran Motorsports, which will add another full-time driver later. He said the complexities of building a team from the ground up lured him back into the mix.

"Frankly that's kind of what I wanted even more than the driving," he said. "My interest in being solely a driver was limited. I'm excited to get back in the car, but I'm more excited about building the team.

"We face immense challenges in starting this thing from scratch. It's not so much the stuff you can buy, but forming a team of people who are comfortable with each other and have the right skills. Of all the challenges we face, this is the one I feel most comfortable in meeting. Team building is one of the best skills I have."

Now 40, de Ferran said he's working to get back into racing shape.

"I'm fully focused and fitness and form that I once had," he said. "I should not underestimate the challenge that I face as a driver, but it's a challenge I'm fully happy to confront and meet. If I'm strapping myself in, I want to be the quickest. The will is there."

De Ferran will be joined by racing veteran John Anderson, who most recently served as Dario Franchitti's race strategist with Andretti Green Racing in the IndyCar Series last season. The new team is expected to set up shop in Indianapolis and begin racing sometime in the first half of the 2008 season.

"We'll start hiring people, buying equipment and finding a good place for a shop," de Ferran said. "We want to be on track as soon as possible, but I don't want to tie myself down to a date."

He also doesn't want to tie himself down to naming a co-driver. When asked if he had anybody in mind, de Ferran chuckled. "I have lots if ideas, but I can give you no hints," he said.

The formation of the team continues de Ferran's longtime association with Honda Performance Development, which entered ALMS last season with three Acura teams: Andretti Green, Highcroft Racing and Lowe's Fernandez Racing.

It also brings the Brazilian back to American racing, which has been his home base since coming to CART in 1995.

"I like the country, the people, the racing environment," de Ferran said. "Over the years since '95 when we started working together, we've developed relationships. Doing a team is something we talked about since I stopped driving in 2003."

De Ferran said he has contacted Roger Penske, his longtime boss before retirement, to tell him they soon would be competitors in ALMS. Penske's Porsche team is one of HPD's chief rivals in ALMS.

"I did speak to Roger and he was happy for me," de Ferran said. "Certainly Roger and a lot of his family and team members are personal friends. The fact that we'll be competing against each other on the racetrack doesn't mean that any of those things will change."

The ALMS season opens on March 15 with the 12 Hours of Sebring.

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