CART: De Ferran Hails Rahal's Last Mid-Ohio Race
9 August 1998
LEXINGTON, OH: He will be there to win, but Gil de Ferran understands that emotions will be running high Sunday as local favorite Bobby Rahal races for the final time at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the Miller 200.Rahal's Ohio bond is as strong as SuperGlue. Born in Medina, educated at Denison University and now a resident of New Albany, the three-time PPG Cup winner became a star driving for a team owned by the late Jim Trueman, whose family still owns the 2.25-mil Mid-Ohio road course. Rahal has announced he will retire after a 28-year career (the last 17 in CART) to concentrate on assorted business interests, including his own team, based in Hilliard.
"Bobby is a great ambassador for the sport," said de Ferran, driver of the Valvoline/Cummins Reynard-Honda. "Here's a guy who is a three-time champion. He won Indianapolis. He won driving for his own team. He won driving for other teams. He achieved every level of success imaginable.
"More important than that, he is a nice guy."
De Ferran, CART's Rookie of the Year in 1995, said hee followed Rahal's successes while growing up and winning go-kart and Formula Ford raced in Brasil, and later while competing in various European series.
"I was aware of his achievements," De Ferran continued. "For me, it's a funny thing racing against your own idols. I remember the first year that I shared the track with Emerson (Fittipaldi). That was a bit of a funny feeling. The same thing goes with Bobby. These are people you've seen when you sat down in front of the TV. Now, you're disputing a corner with them."
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When asked how does the 1997 PPG Cup runner-up rate Rahal, De Ferran responded, "Very fair, but tough as nails. I like racing against Bobby, because Bobby will make you work really hard. He will not give you anything for free. He will not let you go. He is like the ultimate competitor, but he is one of the fairest guys I've ever come across on the racetrack. He's never put me off the racetrack or event attempted to do so."
De Ferran said he doesn't question Rahal's decision to retire. "Those decisions are personal," Gil said. " I have so much respect for those kinds of decisions. As a driver, I can tell you the decision to race or not to race comes from the inner most place in your body. If he has decided to retire, I can tell you there is a voice inside him-very deep inside him-telling him to retire. I take that as a fact. I don't get sad or happy. I just respect it.
"Some people don't understand that, I guess. Racing is a huge challenge psychologically and mentally, amongst many things, because of the risk involved. A decision like that is very personal."
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