ALMS Detroit NAIAS Race Day notes

DEVLIN, DE FERRAN LOOK TO FUTURE IN DETROIT

One of the most historic and tradition-filled auto shows concluded in Detroit following Racing Day featuring American Le Mans Series headliners Gil de Ferran and Ben Devlin this past Friday, January 23rd.

Undeterred by the current economic times, de Ferran and Devlin appreciatively thanked Cobo Center and the city of Detroit for featuring such automobile manufactures as Acura and Mazda.

During a Question-and-Answer session open to the public, both American Le Mans Series drivers spoke about their expectations of driving at the Detroit Grand Prix in 2010, following the announcement of its postponement for the 2009 season, as well as their excitement regarding the sustainable and innovative future expansion within the automotive industry.

"The American Le Mans Series pushes to develop the cars of the general public," said Devlin, part of Dyson Racing's lineup with its Mazda-powered Lola LMP2 coupes. "The simple things that we see in cars like the paddle shift was developed on race track through race cars, and now we see these features in street cars."

De Ferran continued to advocate the encouraging impact that racing transfers to its fans. "This is a subject that is close to my heart," the former Indy 500 and CART champion said. "I cannot separate one thing from the other. I'm not only talking about the widget that is on my sports car that you see on your road car. To me racing provides a platform for you to develop a culture that is essential to automotive technology.

"As race car drivers, we have (the responsibility) to create a way to think, a way to work - a culture racing fosters," added de Ferran, owner and driver of the new de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a in LMP1. This is what we try to do at Acura."

The theme of Racing Day continued to draw correlations between the successes that are seen on race day and the positive results consumers see and feel at home.

-credit: alms