Latest / BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show / Evening With A Legend: Adrian Fernandez

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Evening With A Legend: Adrian Fernandez · BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show

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Evening with a Legend is a series of presentations exclusive to
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Legends of the Famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, giving us an opportunity
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to bring a piece of Le Mans to you.
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By sharing stories and highlights of the big event, you get a chance
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to become part of the legend of Le Mans, with guests from different
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eras of over 100 years of racing.
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Tonight, we have the opportunity to bring a piece of Lamar to you, sharing in the
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legend of Lamar with guests from different eras of over 100 years of racing.
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And as your host, I'm delighted to introduce Adrian Fernandez.
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In 2007, Adrian made his debut at Le Mans, taking home a second place
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in a V8 powered LMP2 prototype.
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This was the first podium for a Mexican driver at the Circuit
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de la Sarthe since the 1960s.
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Three years later, in 2010, Adrian found himself back at Le Mans, this time
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behind the wheel of Aston Martin's LMP1, finishing fifth in class, sixth overall.
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Returning for the 80th running of Le Mans 2012, Adrian and Aston Martin
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took home a third place finish in the GTE Pro class, covering 322
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laps without failures or problems.
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And with Adrian's help, the team achieved the fastest lap
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in their class of 3 minutes 54.
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928. At that point, Adrian had the distinct honor of driving the Aston
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Martin to the checkered flag, and on September 12th of 2012, he announced his
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retirement from racing, thus concluding his relationship with Aston Martin.
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But that wasn't the end of his involvement in the world of motorsports.
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And with that, I'm your host, Crew Chief Eric from the Motoring
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Podcast Network, welcoming everyone to this evening with a legend.
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Adrian, welcome to the show.
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Thank you.
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How are you, Eric?
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Great.
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I'm glad you're here.
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Let's go back in time a little bit and talk about your road to Le Mans.
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You started racing in Mexico in 1981 around the age of 15, and you quickly
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moved up and spent 10 years or so racing stateside in kart and IndyCar, building
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up your skills and your reputation.
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So talk us through how that all led you to Le Mans.
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Was that a goal of yours to race at Le Mans?
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How was the deal put together?
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I started in the 24 hours of Mexico.
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You know, that was my first race, 24 hours of Mexico in a Volkswagen
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Beetle with my uncles sharing the car.
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So my whole career went through basically every time I managed to get where
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I wanted to be like certain steps, then, you know, new dreams, new goals.
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Came to be able to make it.
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So first for me was to raise formula one and, uh, at some stage,
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because I didn't have the age, I started racing at 19 years old.
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So it was not the right age when I was there in Europe.
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So then IndyCar was more like the right fit for that.
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And so I moved to IndyCars in 93, 92, I did Indy lights.
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And in IndyCar, I stayed there all the way through until the
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separation of Kart and Tony George.
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And then I went to IRL, did the 2004 full season.
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Some of my sponsors, they didn't really want to continue there.
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So at that point, really was.
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I was just searching to see what else I would do.
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I still had my own team with my partner, Tom Anderson.
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So we continued to do the IRL.
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And at a certain point, we decided to go with Honda to do the, uh, Ford Karts.
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First with the Grand Am in 2006.
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And then in 2007, basically we started this program with the, uh,
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the American Amount Series with the LMP2, we work on the development
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of the engine and all that stuff.
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And basically that was my introduction to sport cars, to endurance series and,
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uh, 12 hours of searing and six hours of the glen, et cetera, et cetera.
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So that's really how I got to sport cars in that respect.
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So you mentioned that you had raced in Europe earlier in your career,
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especially when you were doing open wheel and looking to get into formula one,
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where had you turned laps in Europe?
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As soon as I realized that I did everything I could in Mexico, I realized
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that I was not going to go anywhere.
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If I stay in Mexico, you know, I have achieved everything I wanted
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to do, and I felt that I was stuck.
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So really I wanted to go the road to formula one and we had
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the Grand Prix at the time, but we didn't have Mexican drivers.
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So I say, you know, this is the perfect opportunity.
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But there was no help, no sponsorship.
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I mean, as big as it is now in Mexico, in that time, there was nothing.
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I was actually the first guy after the Rodríguez and a few guys that
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tried, but didn't make it to the top and consistently stay there.
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I was the first guy to actually just dig my way through it, try
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to make it in racing in Europe.
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But I couldn't get the sponsorship where I didn't, I couldn't even
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find 5, 000, 10, 000 in Europe.
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I mean, I couldn't, I was working as a mechanic.
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I was an instructor in Brown's Hatch with Jeff Brabham and other
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good friends from England, when I didn't find the money to race in
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formula four, I was already committed with a mechanic to do everything.
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I gave him all my savings.
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And when the sponsorship was going to give me the other part of it, he'd
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say, well, sorry, I cannot help you.
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I said, now I'm stuck.
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I'm living in the house of the mechanic that is going to work with me.
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He's going to do the team for me and everything.
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And now I have no money.
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So I asked my dad, what do I do?
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And also come back home.
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You know, what are you doing?
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You're crazy, you know, blah, blah, blah.
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So I thought about it and I said, no, I'm not coming home.
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So I found a job.
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I found my job in Poland, but I have no money.
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I went through France and I didn't have the visa.
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So I have to return.
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I have no money.
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I had to sleep three nights in the train station.
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before we crossed this time over through Belgium.
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And at that time I convinced the driver to keep me in the
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box, you know, in the trailer.
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I hid for four hours and two boxes so I can go through it with no checkups.
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So I smuggled in two there because I didn't want That's
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the type of life that I had.
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And I still make it, made it.
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So that's what I'm saying.
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You know, it was just very tough.
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So at that time in 87, 88 and 89, I really did all the circuits in Europe,
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especially in England, you know, Silverstone, Trotstone, Donington.
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I mean, you name it, all of them.
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It was a very good for my career because the experience that I got
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there, it was just incredible.
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I mean, it was the best racing.
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And even though it took me a while to, because I was, I stay in the same series
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for three years because I have no money and I was working at the beginning
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as a mechanic and things like that, but it gave me a lot of experience.
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experience, which it made the base for me eventually to have the knowledge
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and things like that to own my own team and do the different things
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that I did in my racing career.
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So it was a very, very good decision to go to Europe at the time.
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So a lot of drivers that go overseas and go to Europe, they end up
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cutting their teeth at some of the most famous tracks in the world.
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You talk about spa, you talk about Silverstone, Monza, the list
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goes on and on, but then there's always in the back of their minds.
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Le Mans or Nurburgring, but usually Le Mans because Le Mans
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is the biggest race in the world.
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And so for you, when you were there, was that ever a thought
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that was crossing your mind?
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Like one day I want to drive at Le Mans.
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Yeah, it was.
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I mean, it was like, I wanted to drive Monaco.
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I wanted to drive the Indy 500.
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I wanted to drive the Daytona, you know, the big races and like
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Le Mans was one of the big ones.
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And Pedro Rodriguez won there and it was a very special race for us in Mexico.
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We have knowledge about the race.
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And obviously Le Mans was like the jewel of the endurance racing.
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So yes, through my career, I always thought about it, but I never had
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the chance or the opportunity until I finished my career in IndyCars and
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just had this great relation with Honda to really start racing prototypes
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in America with an American Le Mans Zero, which was very competitive.
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I don't know if you remember, you know, we had the Penske's, Porsche Penske's
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and, you know, Andretti was there and eventually Gilles Deferran was there.
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And I mean, it was just a very strong and competitive series at the time.
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So, yeah, I mean, I got in love with it and it's just so special
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to race those cars at that level because those cars are super fast.
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So you put together the deal for your first run at Le Mans.
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In 2007, that was with teams.
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I tech in the LMP two car.
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Yeah.
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What was it like going to Lamar the first time?
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What kind of impression did it make on you and coming from open wheel
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to endurance more so than let's say ALMS in a much longer format and
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a track you've never seen before.
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How different was it to drive that LMP two car at Lamar?
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Lamar is my favorite racetrack and I will say the most challenging
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because of the high speeds.
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So I really.
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took my time to prepare myself very well.
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Firstly, that race that we did in 2007 was all orchestrated by Honda because
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Honda was looking into doing their own programming in the future in Le Mans.
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So basically they took me as a driver and they made a deal with SciTech
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at the time for me to race there and for them to get an experience.
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about what was Le Mans all about it.
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So at the time we have small simulators, just very basic.
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We didn't have, you know, the high tech simulators that you have now, but
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at least it gave me an idea of where the track was going and then just as
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I got there, you know, it's a track that you cannot just drive around 80
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percent of the track is roads that people just go from town to town.
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What I did is I took a scooter and I went corner to corner taking pictures because
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as a race car driver, especially in Le Mans, everything is about references.
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You know, you have to have a good reference to every turning point and
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breaking point, especially you're going so fast, like in the Mulsanne straight, you
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know, it's, uh, at night you go so fast.
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that stopping into the first chicane, if you miss a little bit, your
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breaking point, you blow the chicane.
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So basically I went through with a scooter and I started looking
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at buildings, you know, there is a bar, there is this and that.
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And, you know, I took photographs of all of this while the test was
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happening and all that, with all this information that I got, I really,
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really got very well prepared.
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And I remember that the Japanese driver.
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Karuaki Kurosawa, he had more experience.
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He's already raced in Le Mans.
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So he did a few laps.
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And then that's the other thing.
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You don't do many laps before the race because the laps are so long.
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It's not like you do 20, 40, 30 laps.
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No, no, no.
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You do maybe seven laps.
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And the other guys, 10 laps, you know, just not many laps.
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So that's why I did my homework in terms of knowing where every breaking
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point may be, references and all that.
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So I didn't feel like lost because otherwise it takes you
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forever to learn the track.
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And I did my labs and I told the guys, I said, don't put any lab times.
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Don't show me any lab times.
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The first time that I went there, I said, don't show me anything.
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Just let me be.
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Just going to go out and I know I'll be fine.
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I just want to learn it.
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And I took my time and eventually I was starting better, better, better, better.
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And, uh, I mean, and then I was.
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Quite fast to the point that I qualify the car because I was
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the fastest of the drivers.
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And, uh, we put the car on the pole, so that was very satisfying for me.
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But like I said, I did the homework and I walked the track.
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I check everything.
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So I didn't feel like I was in a man's land.
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So that was key.
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So how different was the setup of the Le Mans prepared LMP two car versus the
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one you were running here in the States?
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I mean, the cars are very.
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I mean, this was an open cockpit, the same as I was driving in with a Lola
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chassis and then eventually the Acura chassis in the American Le Mans series.
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But the difference between the racetracks in America to
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Le Mans is that it's so long.
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So you're going super fast.
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You know, there, there is quarters of eight years, six years.
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I mean, the entry of the Porsche corners and all that section is extremely
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fast to the point that if you make a little mistake, I mean, it's over.
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It's not like there's nothing like a little mistake.
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It's almost like the Indy 500.
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You're not a little mistake.
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You're on the wall.
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It's the same there.
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So you have to have a lot of respect for the track.
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It's all about the speed.
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So it feels different in that respect because you're going so fast.
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Nothing compares all the race tracks that we race in here.
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Sebring.
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Searing is super slow compared to them on wood tracks, but it's just
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different setups, techniques, everything.
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For example, Sebring is super bumpy.
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One year we wanted Luis Diaz and myself, just two drivers.
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I drove six hours and a half of total for the 12 hours.
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And I was absolutely done.
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I mean, just because of the vibration and the bumps and everything in
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Lamonts is the other way around.
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It's extremely super smooth.
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The track.
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And the nice thing about Lamonts is that the tire Keeps the
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grip lap after lap after lap.
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So it's really a pleasure and it's very enjoyable to drive Le Mans because
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the tires then they don't really dip.
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They stay very consistent and it was just fantastic to drive.
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So it's just another technique, but it's beautiful.
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And I know I keep bringing up LMP2 cars and LMP2 cars because
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actually you're the first.
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Legend to be on evening with a legend that's campaigned an LMP2 car.
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And oftentimes it's one of those classes that we overlook.
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It is extremely competitive even to this day, but people view it like a spec class.
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And it's like, ah, it's LMP2.
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You know, I'm more interested in the LMP1 prototypes or what's
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going on in production car.
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And even TV coverage doesn't often give enough light on the LMP2 class.
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So it's fun to sort of pull these threads and learn from a driver.
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What LMP2 is really like I've heard from some other drivers.
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Coming from open wheel to prototypes, not necessarily LMP2, they're
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like apples and oranges, there's no translation between the two.
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And I often wondered, is that really true?
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How close is the downforce?
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Are they very similar handling wise, or did you have to relearn as you
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transition from one to the other?
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First thing you have to relearn because you're not the only driver in the car.
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You know, you're sharing the car with somebody else.
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So basically everything is a compromise from the seating position to the setup.
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So basically you have to really work with your teammates to be able to get
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the best setup and the best feeling for everybody because it doesn't matter if
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I'm very quick and my teammate is not that quick because he doesn't fit well or
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he doesn't like what we make to the car.
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It just doesn't matter.
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So it's a compromise.
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The LMP2 that we drove in those years that I competed in the
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American Le Mans series with Acura, those cars were extremely fast.
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I mean, super fast because after that they tuned down the engines, but 2007, eight
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and nine, the cars were extremely fast.
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In that respect, the car performance and speed up through the corners was.
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In some ways, very close to IndyCars.
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So really, the things that you needed to work a lot, like I say, working
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with your teammates, working in a compromise setup that it works for
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everybody, learning how to, uh, manage the car, not destroy the car.
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Obviously, these days, even in my days, you can push.
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10, 10, all the time, the car and the car, they survived the
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other 12 hours, 24 hours is a go.
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But at the same time, you know, it's a long race, so you don't
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want to do stupid mistakes.
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And you just really want to have a little reserve just to make
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sure you don't make any mistakes.
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And you drive through the night.
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Sometimes you drive through the night in rain and things like that,
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that you don't have in IndyCars.
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IndyCars, you always have lights.
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The races are very short compared to Le Mans.
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I remember one year, 2010, with the LMP1, I was driving with my good
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friend Stefan Muka and Harald Primat.
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And Harald Primat had a problem through the night, and he
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couldn't drive after one hour.
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And I just came out of the car.
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I was just getting ready, you know, you have your motorhome, you take a
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shower, you have your physiotherapist, you eat, you do all the things.
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And I was starting to get ready to go to sleep.
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And the team called me that they had an issue with him.
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And that if I would be able to replace him, he had, uh, an issue with,
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uh, cramping and things like that.
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So I jumped in the car.
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I didn't rest much three years.
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Yeah.
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Three and a half hours after I came out of the car and I drove
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almost four hours straight.
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And I say almost four hours, because it was like three hours and 55 minutes,
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because you cannot exceed in those days.
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You couldn't exceed more than four hours.
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Otherwise you get a penalty, but I was fine.
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I was fine.
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I could drive.
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I was.
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Not sweating.
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I was just, I remember that thing that I did so long, actually
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the engineers and everybody went to sleep in the, in the trucks.
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I was not hearing any, anybody was completely dark.
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There's not even lights.
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The only part that there's some lights is in the permanent course,
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but the rest is just absolutely night.
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So you just see your lights of the dash.
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The lights of the other cars, but it's so peaceful and you're
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just basically, it's like diving at night, which is so beautiful.
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But I was calling my engineer and nobody was answering like for two, three laps.
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I was getting worried, you know, even though I knew exactly more or less
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when I had to get into the pit, but sometimes it gets a little, uh, scary
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if you don't hear back from your team.
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Glad you brought us into 2010 and the LMP1 attempt with Aston Martin.
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And so I wanted to focus in on something you just said.
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said, we've heard from other drivers about the changing conditions at Lamar.
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What are the most stressful times when the sun is starting to come back up or what
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inevitably starts to rain, but almost four hours in the car, a lot of drivers these
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days don't do those long stints like that.
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They do two hours at a time.
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And you know, then they have the maximum amount of drive time
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and all those kinds of things.
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How do you stay focused for four hours in the middle of the night
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when you're just by yourself?
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How do you not, let's just say, get bored or.
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How do you keep your pace consistent?
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Lap after lap for four hours.
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Just training.
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I have always been a very disciplined person, very disciplined athlete.
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Even in my days of IndyCars, I always worked to the maximum and more.
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I was very good with everything I did, you know, and the type of
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training physically that I used to do.
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It was also about concentration and focusing and things like that.
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For me, it was just natural.
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I felt I was very good at it.
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Barely made any mistakes.
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I've never crashed in Le Mans.
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So I was just very pure concentration.
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And to the point that, like I said, you know, I can drive for
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four hours and I didn't have any problems with getting tired.
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In IndyCar, one of the challenges that I face when I enter IndyCar is
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that I have a very small bone frame.
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You know, my bones are tiny compared to, for example, people in those
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days like Mario, Andre, Nigel Ma, Paul, Tracy, ARDI, et cetera.
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So the indicators in those days were so physical that you needed four or five
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LAP to do a, a good lap in qualifying, and the four feet lab were the best.
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And I couldn't do more than three laps good.
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And, uh, so the X track, which was in the fourth or fifth lap,
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my body was completely done.
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Physically, I just couldn't turn the steering wheel.
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We have no assistance of anything.
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We have no traction controls.
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We have no power steering control.
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And we have 1000 horsepower.
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Those cars were really a beast.
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I mean, you have physically.
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I remember Ari lying like a night before the start of the Laguna Seca race.
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We were instead of talking about the car or whatever it is we were talking
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about, are we going to make it, you know, physically because it was so physical.
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So I learned a technique to relax.
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Obviously I changed the way I work out and everything, you know, less cardio,
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more, more weights and things like that.
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But then I work a lot on relaxing my muscles through the straights.
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A technique that I learned and I applied very successful work with my
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engineer because we have this deficit.
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So how are we going to make it?
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So one, physically you have to work on this.
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So I learned how to relax my muscles on the straight and just put the
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effort on the, you know, so some people are like very tense, you
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know, even in the straight, no, no.
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And in the straight I was just relaxed, just basically putting
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the minimum amount of effort just to keep the car on the line.
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And then when you get to the corners and all that, that's when you put the effort.
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So that really takes a lot of effort out of each lab.
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And that's how I managed to improve because of the strength
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that I, that was, I was lacking.
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And then because we were not qualifying so good, John Ward and
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myself, we work on just how are we going to fight with these deficits?
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So basically we work a lot on how to save fuel.
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And if you remember my days of IndyCars, we were the first one
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that we were so good on saving fuel.
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So I always managed to do one lap or two laps more than the guys
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when they came into the pits.
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And that was how we compensate the lack of strength in those days.
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Within the cars to be able to win races that transfer it to Lamont.
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So same with Lamont, some guys who, when they come and you know, the speed
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and everything, they are very tense and they get tired more and all that.
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And I was extremely relaxed on the straight.
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You have a such a long straight.
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So I was very relaxed driving the car in that respect, putting minimum
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effort into my muscles and just.
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Focusing on the track, but you're going so fast, you know, you're
20:00
going so fast, but you have to relax.
20:02
And once you put everything in contest, you know, everything
20:05
slows down in your mind.
20:06
It's like a machine, you know, lap after lap after lap.
20:08
And the only thing you have to worry is about somebody went off, there's
20:11
gravel, or there's certain things that normally when there's a driver
20:14
change, you have to be ready, like half an hour before you get into your
20:18
shift to getting back into the car.
20:20
And at that time, you put your earplugs, your radio, and you start talking to
20:26
the driver that is driving the car.
20:27
And he's telling you the last three laps or two laps or the last lap, he tells
20:31
you, you know, be careful in here, be careful in there, there's a little bit
20:33
of oil, or the track is okay, don't worry, because you have to perform.
20:37
Once you get out of the pits, even if it's 3, 4 in the morning, you
20:39
know, a little chilly and all that.
20:41
And you're like sleepy or whatever.
20:43
I mean, you have to jump on the car and you have to go and you have to be within
20:47
three, four tens or, or the same lap times that the other guy got was, I mean,
20:50
you have to be really on it because the competition is so strong, but it helps
20:55
to listen to the driver that is coming out to see how is the track, how is the
20:58
car, any problems, blah, blah, blah.
21:01
And that's the big difference when you were asking about Indy cars and
21:05
sport cars, you know, the endurance.
21:06
A competition is just that, that you're sharing the car with somebody else.
21:09
So you're a team in that respect that you normally don't do that in IndyCar.
21:13
That's a lot of fun and it's very challenging.
21:15
So let's catch everybody up.
21:17
2007, you come home with a second place finish in LMP2,
21:22
your first time at Le Mans.
21:23
Yeah.
21:23
With all the preparation that you did, it paid off.
21:26
I'm sure you couldn't have been more happy with those results.
21:29
Yes.
21:30
You come back in 2010 running an LMP one car for a totally different
21:34
team, totally different car.
21:35
And you come in fifth, sixth overall.
21:37
Sixth overall.
21:38
We finished fifth in class and, uh, it was with Harold Priman and Stefan Munchen.
21:42
We finished, uh, fifth in class.
21:44
Yes.
21:45
Another year goes by the 2011 season comes around and I didn't mention this in the
21:49
introduction because your luck sort of ran out at Le Mans that year and you had some
21:54
problems with the LMP1 Aston Martin AMR1.
21:58
So what happened?
21:59
David Richard wanted to do his own engine, his And, uh, the way they designed the
22:04
car, especially the engine, they run out of time to produce a good engine.
22:08
Um, basically they were having so many problems, both cars retiring within.
22:12
We started, we did one lap just as that after the door lock corner, you
22:16
know, in the Molson straight, just 200 meters into the Molson straight,
22:20
basically I broke first and then Darren Turner was driving the other one.
22:25
He broke a hundred meters ahead of me.
22:27
And that was it.
22:28
One lap in a quarter.
22:29
That's what we did.
22:30
That was very hard on Aston Martin, in Debbie Richard.
22:33
And it was just a tough day for the whole team.
22:35
But that didn't stop you.
22:36
No.
22:37
Another attempt in 2012 at Le Mans.
22:40
So how did that work?
22:42
How did you move then into the GT production class?
22:45
Again, running for Aston Martin.
22:46
Why the invite to go into production and not maybe another LMP2 or LMP1?
22:51
So this is what happened at the end of 2009, we see us and myself,
22:55
we won the LMP2 championship in the American Le Mans series.
22:58
At the same time was the end of my team, Fernandez Racing, I closed
23:02
the doors of Fernandez Racing.
23:04
And the reason was we had the crisis of 2008.
23:07
And we did very good with Fernandez Racing.
23:09
I wanted to, uh, keep the team, but it was very difficult to keep
23:13
sponsors and a lot of things.
23:15
At that point, you know, I've done everything in my career.
23:17
I was, you know, I was very successful in most of the championships
23:21
and cars that I competed.
23:22
So I was in a good position myself.
23:24
And for me, the most important part of my life at that point was to put
23:28
a lot of attention on my family.
23:30
That was like as much attention and dedication I put to my race career.
23:34
I wanted to put that into my family.
23:36
I was just burned out.
23:37
I was living in Miami.
23:38
I didn't want to go on and live in Indianapolis or somewhere else.
23:42
And I mean, I had different opportunities, but I was done basically.
23:46
We decided to sell the team and Lowe's USA helped me to get
23:51
this deal with Aston Martin.
23:53
They sponsor us.
23:54
They paid for my salary and the deal was for three years.
23:57
So basically I was going to drive whatever David Richard wanted me to
24:00
drive there and whoever he would put me to drive with because I was at
24:04
that time, I was not an owner driver.
24:06
I was just a driver.
24:08
So basically he wanted, first, the LMP one was the first time 2010 with him.
24:13
Then 2011 was his project.
24:16
It was our LMP one also, but it was just a total disaster.
24:19
And actually that year we have to jump back to the other car
24:22
that we had to the LMP one.
24:24
You know, the beautiful, I don't know if you ever heard it, but the, the
24:26
aftermath, they call it BO nine 60, which was the Lola Chelsea, beautiful Chelsea.
24:31
With this B12 Astro Matthew was beautiful, sounding beautiful.
24:34
So in 2011, we went back.
24:37
After we saw that the AMR one was not working, we went back to the Lola
24:42
chassis and we finished the season.
24:44
So for 2012, David say no more LMP1 or LMP2.
24:49
Obviously Aston Martin makes a lot of cars, you know, especially, you
24:52
know, the Vantage GT and all those.
24:55
So they had always a program there.
24:57
So, but basically they wanted to have the top drivers.
25:00
Driving in the pro team, basically that was my year that I just did GT,
25:05
which I never done before in my life.
25:07
I did a few NASCAR races in Mexico and things like that.
25:10
And I did, uh, a few reasons on the, all of a sudden when I tried
25:13
to go to NASCAR in 2005, six, seven, and it was challenging to be
25:18
honest, driving the GT was the most challenging because I was driving
25:22
with Darren Turner and Stefan Muecke.
25:24
These guys were extremely good drivers in GTs.
25:26
When you come from cars like the LMP1, LMP2, and driving all your life
25:32
single seaters, Indy cars, things like that, type of driving is just
25:35
very precise, very small movements, etc. You know, when you jump in a GT,
25:40
you know, the car moves a lot more.
25:42
You have to get used to that movement and trusting the car and things like that.
25:46
So I really had to work really, really, really hard on it, but I managed
25:50
to have a great season with them.
25:51
I worked really hard on looking at how the car felt and everything.
25:55
And I was always within two tens of them.
25:58
So it was a great season and basically a great finish for my career in terms of
26:03
racing, because that was my last race.
26:04
And we finished third, you know, when you follow.
26:07
The WEC and even the IMSA schedule, not all of the races do the quote
26:11
unquote, the bigger cars, like the LMP twos and LMP ones run the
26:15
whole season with the GT cars.
26:18
It's a little bit different when you've got all the classes running
26:20
together, like at Rolex or at the Glen and places like that.
26:23
So when you got to Lamar running the GT, even though you had been
26:27
running it in the rest of the season, I've heard a lot of other drivers.
26:30
Say that when they took a step into a production class, they spent a
26:33
lot more time driving than their mirrors, than they were used to.
26:38
Yeah, that's the horrible part of it.
26:40
I remember very well because, you know, I took my dad there because
26:43
I, I really thought it would, that was going to be my last race.
26:45
So he was with me there.
26:46
So we started driving and in practice, I did race some at night and I was
26:51
extremely uncomfortable, especially, you know, I was 50 years old.
26:54
My eyes are not as good as when I was 35 and I was struggling at night.
26:59
The most difficult part of it, first the lights, you know, you get these
27:02
lights and obviously your marks are not as good and now they have better
27:05
systems so you don't get blinded.
27:07
But you see the lights and you think that he's there and you want to turn
27:11
that part of it that you are not secure.
27:13
If he's there or he's not there, it's very difficult, especially in those years.
27:16
Now they have much better system to know if they turn, if the
27:20
other guy is there or not.
27:21
So it was just very, very difficult in that respect.
27:24
So what I told my guys, Stefan Mucha and Darren Turner,
27:28
and I said, how old are you?
27:29
Is 20 something, you know, and you 31 or 32.
27:31
Okay, good.
27:32
See you in the morning.
27:33
I'm not driving at night.
27:35
I took the right decision of not driving at night.
27:38
They did all the work.
27:39
They did a fantastic work.
27:40
Fantastic drivers.
27:41
And I drove in the morning and David Richard let me, uh, finish
27:44
the race, cross the finish line.
27:46
And, uh, that was very special.
27:47
A lot of drivers that tell their Le Mans story, it's a turning
27:52
point for them as a driver.
27:54
And for you, it was towards the end of your career, actually at the end
27:57
of your career, as you decided to retire after the 2012 season and move
28:01
on to other things, still involved in motorsports, which we'll get to,
28:03
but everybody's tends to agree that.
28:06
Lamar changed them as a driver for the good.
28:09
Sometimes maybe for the bad, but generally for the good.
28:12
So how would you say that Lamar changed you or what did you walk
28:16
away from the experience with?
28:18
What did Lamar teach you as a driver?
28:20
To be even more disciplined because any small mistakes, you know, like
28:24
the Indy 500 is a tough race, but it's just two hours and a half, maybe.
28:28
Max, but Lamont says 24 hours, you know, you're driving with
28:31
different classes, different speeds.
28:33
So basically it just teaches you a lot about awareness and respect the other
28:37
classes, respect the other drivers and be more disciplined within yourself.
28:42
Every time you make any decision.
28:44
When you're driving, and that's why Le Mans, it makes you a
28:47
better driving in all aspects.
28:49
As you retired from racing, but you didn't retire from motorsport.
28:53
You got involved with Sergio Perez in formula one and trying to promote
28:57
the next generation of Mexican drivers coming up through the system.
29:00
And so you've been involved in motorsport for your entire life.
29:03
When you look back over your career, working with Sergio, working with a lot
29:07
of other drivers, do you have any advice for aspiring Latino drivers who want to
29:11
make a career in professional racing?
29:13
Yes, of course.
29:14
I mean, the main thing is that if you really want to become a professional race
29:17
car driver and make an impact, you have to really take it with all your your arms.
29:22
I mean, you have to be completely involved on it 10 10 all the time
29:27
because it just takes so much.
29:29
The competition is so tough.
29:31
There's so many good drivers.
29:32
So you have to always look at how can I be better than the other guys?
29:36
And there's so many good drivers around, you know, that the difference between
29:39
the good drivers are not so good.
29:40
It's very small.
29:41
It's just the good drivers, exceptional drivers are the drivers that can
29:45
stay in that limit for a long time and they don't make mistakes.
29:48
They can adapt to different type of cars.
29:50
If the car is not good or bad, they can adapt and they can go through
29:55
adversity and things like that and still be there and make the results.
29:58
And that's what it takes.
29:59
And to do that, you know, your life has to be balanced, meaning you have to have.
30:04
Time just to think about racing.
30:06
If you have other businesses, other distractions, family, or a lot
30:10
of family or other distractions, you know, it's difficult.
30:14
I mean, look at Max Verstappen.
30:16
He finished one race and even sometimes in the weekend of the Grand Prix,
30:20
he's racing online, you know, with the simulators and after the races.
30:24
He's racing on Monday and Tuesday and Thursday with a simulator.
30:28
He's so sharp mentally because he's on it all the time.
30:32
And that's how the level of competition it is.
30:34
So if you really want to do this, you have to really put everything on it.
30:38
You have to be very selfish because you have to really
30:41
dedicate a lot of your time to it.
30:43
And sometimes, you know, I miss a lot of weddings and special events for my family.
30:48
I have to leave Mexico.
30:49
I have pursued my dreams and that takes a lot of sacrifices.
30:53
It's done.
30:53
Nah.
30:54
A lot of people don't do it a hundred percent and they do
30:56
it 98%, 97% or, or like that.
30:59
And sometimes that two 3% makes the difference between the good
31:03
drivers and the exception of drivers.
31:05
Do you know of any pathways for younger drivers to come up through the system?
31:10
Is it easier now?
31:12
Are there any incentives for Latin Americans and Mexicans to come into
31:16
the US and European racing programs?
31:18
You know, I, I have not been so attached to racing.
31:21
I mean, I watched the races.
31:22
Because I like to race.
31:23
I watched IndyCar races.
31:25
I watched Formula One and I watched some NASCAR races because my good
31:28
friend Daniel Suarez is there.
31:30
But for Mexican and for a lot of the Latin drivers, the doors now are open.
31:34
When I went to Europe, the doors were shut and I had to open them because there
31:38
were no opportunities to have sponsorship.
31:40
Nobody believed that you can make it.
31:41
Now it is proven.
31:43
So now the work is that you have to go and knock at the doors of
31:46
the sponsorship and convince them that this is what you want to do.
31:49
And they tell you, no, it feels bad, but you have to keep knocking at more doors.
31:54
And because now it's easier to really make it in terms of make
31:59
it to different categories.
32:00
Like I tried to do, it's easier, but I will probably say it's more
32:04
difficult to make it to the top in terms of Formula One, because
32:06
there are so many drivers now.
32:08
They all know the techniques and all that, because it's all out there.
32:11
In my days, you have to walk the track.
32:13
There was no simulator.
32:14
They have no, I mean, you have to find yourself out now.
32:17
All the information is out there.
32:19
So that's what I'm saying.
32:20
So it's in the old days, the difference between exceptional drug and a good
32:24
driver was bigger because of the knowledge that we didn't have now,
32:27
because they have everything, they have all the tools now, the small details.
32:32
on your commitment to racing.
32:34
That's what makes the difference.
32:35
So let's say non drivers, enthusiasts, you know, somebody
32:38
walks up to you, Adrian, and says, Hey, I heard you drove at Le Mans.
32:41
I've never watched an endurance race before.
32:44
Why should I watch such a long race?
32:46
American Le Mans series, endurance racing is not easy to watch.
32:49
You just have to be very passionate about it because there's too
32:51
many drivers, too many classes.
32:54
But when I race a sport car, so I mean, all those times the fans
32:58
were really knowledgeable about the drivers and the brands, everything.
33:02
It was like a big family.
33:03
And same with Le Mans, you have so much history there.
33:06
If you like cars and you start reading about all the stories about Le Mans and
33:11
the Porsches and Ferrari and Ferrari versus Ford, et cetera, et cetera.
33:16
And then you get there and you see the atmosphere, the place.
33:20
I mean, it's just, it's overwhelming.
33:22
It's just beautiful, but obviously you have to like racing.
33:25
And these days, you know, uh, the young generations have three kids.
33:28
The span of attention is very, it's very short.
33:32
They want things very quickly.
33:33
And that's why like NASCAR, you know, to watch a NASCAR race.
33:36
Now it's just more difficult in the old days.
33:38
Remember, I mean, you have all the red, everybody watching the races stay there.
33:42
You know, I raised in those era, I raised against Dillon, her
33:45
seniors, junior, all those legends.
33:48
And he was, all the people were there because racing was in their blood.
33:52
So now we just have to educate the new generations and like what is happening
33:56
with Formula 1 because of COVID and Netflix and they did this documentary
34:00
on the racing, you know, people got cooked because of the personality
34:03
of the drivers and everything.
34:04
And the same with me when my career became a boom in, in, in the nineties.
34:09
It was because people knew about the drivers, we have very good television
34:13
coverage and everything, and people really got really hooked into it.
34:16
It was very special.
34:18
So now it's the same.
34:19
It's just, you know, we just have to educate the public
34:22
in terms of endurance racing.
34:24
What's it all about?
34:25
Make small stories and all that.
34:27
So, yeah, but I mean, as a driver is for me, it's just one of the best.
34:31
And I, I, I put Le Mans as my favorite racetrack in my entire career.
34:37
One of the things you touched on there was seeing a lot of change over the years
34:41
and over your many years in the motor sports world, in your professional career.
34:45
And then afterwards you've seen a lot of change.
34:47
What do you think is one of the best things to have happened to
34:50
motorsport in your time in its involvement, or one of the best
34:54
things that's ever happened to Lamont?
34:56
You came after the course redesign and the building changes.
34:59
You didn't get to see all the stuff in the eighties, but there's a lot out there.
35:02
So what do you think is one of the best?
35:03
Things that's happened.
35:04
Yeah.
35:05
I say safety, definitely.
35:07
I mean, I was one of the first drivers to test the Hans device.
35:09
It felt weird.
35:10
It felt like, really, we have to use this, but the safety
35:14
aspect of it is just incredible.
35:16
And then the halo, but all these things, I had also a terrible accident.
35:19
I don't know if you remember, but in Michigan and one of my wheels came out
35:23
and went into the public and it was just horrible and after my accident, the
35:27
fences went up on the track and more in.
35:30
And they start putting tethers in the uprights to attach the tires to it.
35:35
So that was a big improvement in terms of safety, the halo and
35:38
many, many, many other things.
35:40
So I I'll say the aspect of safety, not just on the cars, but the
35:44
tracks has made it much better.
35:46
Since I started driving to when I finished driving, I lost 14 friends that they're
35:51
actually practicing testing or erasing.
35:54
So that's a lot of drivers.
35:55
You know, my career was span of 32 years, but losing 14 friends, that's a lot.
36:00
That's way too many.
36:01
So, yeah, I say safety is the main thing.
36:03
Obviously, the track has improved a lot.
36:05
Le Mans.
36:06
For example, my last race, you know, with the GT and the following year,
36:10
I forgot his name from Denmark.
36:11
I think was his name, got killed in, uh, Petra rush, just little things
36:16
because it was a real and they had a tree on the back and things like that.
36:19
So I'll say the safety is the main, main, main point.
36:23
Obviously the cars are becoming also a little less physical, but more degrading
36:28
in terms of your steering wheel, which in the old days, we didn't have that
36:31
many things on the steering wheel.
36:33
We have them in different areas, so it's more there.
36:35
So basically you just have to train your, your mind, your brain to work with
36:39
this little steering wheel where you have everything in our days, we didn't
36:42
have any, I, I actually, I used to, I remember I used to say to my engineers,
36:47
you know, the less bottoms you have in my steering wheel, the better, you know,
36:50
I don't want destruction because it was already physically very, very hard.
36:55
And, you know, I just bought, um, a BRM from Pedro Rodriguez.
36:59
1970. And the car is, uh, difficult to drive.
37:03
It's very, I drove it in the last year in the Monaco Grand Prix Storix.
37:08
That's when you realize how racing was so much more for the driver, more difficult,
37:13
more challenging, especially physically, because the position wasn't the right one.
37:16
You didn't have the right steering wheels.
37:19
The pedal position was not right.
37:21
The cars were not that strong.
37:22
They were very dangerous.
37:24
Et cetera, et cetera.
37:25
So when people start comparing drivers from different generations, eras, I
37:29
always say, listen, you cannot compare, you know, you cannot compare, you
37:33
cannot put me a modern Formula One driver and put it in, in the cars that
37:37
I, I, we used to drive or other areas.
37:40
So they find you errors.
37:41
Where if you have an off, you probably most likely are going to get killed or get
37:45
burned because the cars were like that.
37:47
So when, you know, for example, in a corner, you take flat out in Formula 1
37:51
these days, if you don't make it, you go in, in a off lane, it's all paved,
37:55
no worries, offline, you know, off limits, like they call it these days.
37:59
Our off limits was the wall, the trees, you know, the, the grass,
38:03
the rocks, the fence, whatever.
38:05
So in that respect, everything has changed a lot that has improved, which is good.
38:10
In some ways, it's good.
38:11
In some other ways, I think they have taken a little bit too far,
38:14
especially with these four wheels out of the line and all that.
38:17
I think that's so stupid.
38:19
I think they should put natural limits on tracks.
38:22
And if you want to go up there, well, there's no grip or you're
38:24
going to go into the wall.
38:25
It's still with the safety protocols that they have these
38:28
days, they can still do that.
38:29
But obviously always, always there is a compromise.
38:32
Well, I'm glad you brought up driving historic cars because as we wrap up
38:37
here, one of the final questions I want to ask you is if you could go
38:40
back to Lamont today, all things being equal and drive maybe a car from 2023
38:46
or the 2024 season, what would it be?
38:48
Or because this year we have the opportunity that we're running the
38:52
Lamont's classic for the first time in many, many years, would you go back to
38:56
Lamont and drive one of your previous cars or one of your competitor's cars?
39:00
I think I would love to have driven the GT 40, you know, the GT 40 that
39:04
Pedro Rodriguez drove on typical, you know, the, the engines when they were
39:08
fighting with, uh, Ferrari and all that, the GT is just a beautiful car.
39:14
I'm actually trying to get one because I would like to drive it actually
39:17
in Le Mans, in the Le Mans classics, you know, with the old cars, but
39:20
that's the car that I would love.
39:22
It's just a beautiful car.
39:23
Another car that I like is the 970, you know, from Steve McQueen those days.
39:27
That's another car that I love.
39:29
It's another beautiful car, but I think I like better the GT40.
39:33
Just imagine in those days they didn't have chicanes and they were flat out and
39:37
if you jump in these cars if you see the 917 in the front it's just little shoes.
39:43
There is nothing in front of your pedal to protect you if you hit the wall.
39:46
I mean, you're going to be just as much when the car is going to be like this.
39:50
It's just incredible that in those days through Le Mans and all that, what they
39:54
did and the speeds they were doing in those days in these cars is incredible.
39:58
I mean, that's a Molson straight took forever.
40:01
I mean, probably some guys smoke a cigarette those days.
40:04
To paraphrase something I heard Derek Bell once say, driving the 917 was
40:09
like being strapped to a lawn chair that could do 200 miles an hour.
40:13
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
40:15
Yeah, yeah.
40:15
I mean, I, I know him well and I, we talk about it and you know, I drove a lot of
40:19
the cars that were very unsafe and sort of like when I started my career, but
40:23
it's incredible that in those days you don't think about it, you know, even the
40:26
truck that I used to drive, you see some of the pictures of my early days and you
40:30
see people there, people there, whatever.
40:33
That was how racing was.
40:34
And you, you just didn't think about it.
40:36
It was like, okay, well, you hit him and kill him.
40:39
Well, that's part of the sport, right?
40:40
Sublime to think that, you know, now we're thinking, you know, now is so
40:44
scrutinize everything, safety drivers, everything, uniforms, fire, this, that.
40:49
In those days, I mean, even the seatbelts and so many things that
40:53
were not so safe as they are now.
40:55
What's next?
40:56
Is there more to the story?
40:57
Are you done with motorsport?
40:59
No, you know what?
41:00
I have learned to close the circles.
41:02
I live a beautiful life now.
41:04
I have three beautiful kids.
41:06
I have a beautiful wife.
41:07
I have a 16 year old boy, a 17 year old girl, Valentina Nico, and then I
41:13
have a four year old, Adrian Junior.
41:15
And like I said, I sacrificed so much and I was very selfish where I
41:20
didn't have other life but racing.
41:22
I was so, so into it and so perfectionist in everything I did,
41:26
that I miss a lot of those things.
41:28
So now I just love my life because I'm just Adrian Fernandez.
41:32
I'm not the Rayska Frapper.
41:33
I go out, I can be myself.
41:35
If they don't recognize me in the better, I can do the things that
41:38
I didn't do for so many years.
41:40
And I absolutely love it because I had a fantastic career.
41:43
I'm here.
41:44
I'm still in one piece.
41:45
I did a lot of good friends.
41:47
I. I own my own team, I competed in different series.
41:51
I won in most of them.
41:52
I made my money doing racing, which not many people do that.
41:55
You're right.
41:56
Everything I have, I made it from racing.
41:58
And also my career teach me a lot of other things.
42:00
So I'm in another thing investments and I've done very
42:03
well, but it's my own schedule.
42:05
I don't like schedules anymore.
42:07
I don't fancy that, you know, they invite me to the Mexican grumpy or
42:10
to these, I don't fancy that anymore.
42:11
I spent so much time, you know, I was an FIA steward also in formula one, apart
42:15
from being a manager of Checo Perez.
42:17
And I mean, those are the worst jobs because you know, you're not looking after
42:21
yourself, you're looking after somebody and they don't hear you all the time.
42:24
So it's, that's not very nice.
42:25
I, a lot of people want me to manage them.
42:27
I don't do that anymore.
42:28
I help them.
42:29
I give them advice and I, I say, I help you for free.
42:32
One day, if you become big, just invite me to one of the races.
42:36
To be with you and we have a nice dinner and that's it.
42:38
That's your thank you.
42:39
And I'll be happy, but I don't have to get involved.
42:41
I don't have to go through the headaches.
42:43
I already have them, you know, because racing is tough, especially
42:46
that I, I was the driver.
42:47
I was the owner.
42:48
I sold the sponsorship.
42:50
I never had a managers.
42:51
So I did everything myself and I did it very well, but I was extremely exhausted.
42:56
So now this balance of life that I have here, where I am, I have a beautiful
43:00
museum here in Miami with some of my race cars, memorabilia, and I work here.
43:05
We have.
43:05
Great partners with other collections of cars.
43:08
It just cannot get better.
43:09
Some people, sometimes they don't let it go, you know, and they
43:12
want to stay, stay attached.
43:13
I see it with a lot of people, you know, drivers and they keep driving.
43:16
You know, you see, I mean, I drove the 32 years.
43:19
So what else am I going to prove?
43:21
You know, it's a Lamont, you know, like I do Monaco that's for fun.
43:24
I don't care if I win or if I'm bad last, I don't care.
43:28
I mean, what am I going to prove?
43:29
I don't have to prove anything I'm done.
43:31
And that circle in my life is closed.
43:33
It's just the best part.
43:35
A lot of people who cannot do that, then they start getting a
43:38
lot of problems with themselves because they want to be that light.
43:40
They want to be in the spotlight.
43:42
And they want to be there.
43:43
It's just, I don't care if I'm in the spotlight.
43:45
I don't care if they look at me.
43:46
They recognize me.
43:47
In the 90s, I was big.
43:48
You know, I was very That's fine.
43:50
I enjoy it.
43:51
But that circle is closed.
43:52
Now I do other things and I enjoy it a lot.
43:55
Have your kids expressed any interest in going into motorsport?
43:58
Or is that just part of dad's past?
44:00
No, I, you know, I took Nico, Nico because he's, uh, two years
44:05
younger than Sebastian Montoya.
44:07
Juan Pablo Montoya is a good friend of mine.
44:09
They used to live here in Miami.
44:11
We were neighbors.
44:12
The kids went to the same school.
44:13
So when Sebastian, Sebas was starting to drive go karts and all that, I
44:17
took Nico a few times with him and all that, but he was never, he didn't
44:22
really, didn't like it that much.
44:24
He enjoyed, but like, if I invite you to a ride in, in, uh, Fairground or
44:29
something like that, but nothing special.
44:32
He never asked me again and I didn't.
44:33
So he has been playing soccer since then and he's a fantastic
44:37
soccer player, which I love it because I also do different things.
44:40
And sometimes I think about it.
44:42
Do I want to spend the rest of my life going to the tracks again
44:46
and the weekends and all that?
44:47
It's just too much.
44:48
Now I live in other things.
44:50
I do other things.
44:51
And it's just so your life is full.
44:53
In terms of experiences and everything, when you do everything the same,
44:57
that's why I don't do podcasts or anything like this, because if I
45:01
speak the truth, most of the time it's, it's going to be in trouble.
45:04
And now these days with social media that you have to be politically correct and
45:08
all that, I mean, it's all that bullshit.
45:10
You know, I don't want to get into that.
45:12
I don't need it.
45:12
I don't live from that.
45:14
It's just a great balance in my life at this moment.
45:17
And I enjoy a lot of what I did.
45:18
You know, I had a fantastic 31 years.
45:21
It was just a wonderful journey.
45:24
And, you know, I'm just glad that I'm still here because I lost a lot of good
45:27
friends that I love and that I like, you know, I'm very blessed to be able
45:30
to be here with good health and enjoy my family and do the things I love to do.
45:35
As we wrap out here, I'd like to pass the torch to David Lowe, president of
45:39
the ACO USA for some parting thoughts.
45:42
Adrian, on behalf of the ACO and the U. S. members.
45:46
I just want to thank you for an incredible evening.
45:48
Thank you.
45:49
It was about Lamont, but it started to sound like a TED
45:52
Talk, which is a big compliment.
45:54
You touched on a lot of points that people don't touch on in our evenings,
45:58
and you brought a different flavor to it, and I really appreciate that.
46:03
And I say that on behalf of the members.
46:05
I personally thought it was an incredible evening.
46:08
Thank you so much.
46:09
Thank you, Dave.
46:10
Anytime, and thank you, Eric.
46:11
And on behalf of everyone here and those listening at home, thank you, Adrian,
46:16
for sharing your stories with us.
46:18
Since 1981, when Adrian entered his first auto race, the 24 Hours of Mexico, in
46:23
Mexico City at the age of 15, he made racing a permanent part of his life.
46:27
In the 90s, he would enjoy many successes behind the wheel of an Indy car, along
46:31
with his four attempts at Le Mans from 2007 to 2012, propelling him to even
46:37
higher heights, becoming the manager for another up and coming Mexican
46:40
driver, Formula One's Sergio Perez.
46:42
With over 30 years of professional racing under his helmet, Adrian is a model for
46:47
many of us to continue to aspire to.
46:49
To learn more or to keep up with Adrian's latest adventures, be
46:52
sure to follow him on social at adrianf007 on Twitter and Instagram.
46:58
We hope you enjoyed this presentation and look forward to more evening
47:01
with a legend throughout the season.
47:03
And with that, Adrian, I can't thank you enough for coming on the show
47:06
and sharing your stories with us.
47:07
And whether you realize it or not, you continue to be a role model for up
47:11
and coming drivers from here on out.
47:14
Thank you, my friend.
47:14
Thank you, Eric.
47:15
Stay well, my friend.
47:16
Good luck.
47:17
Ciao.
47:17
Ciao.
47:29
This episode has been brought to you by the Automobile Club
47:32
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47:34
From the awe inspiring speed demons that have graced the track to the courageous
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For over a century, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has urged manufacturers to
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the relentless pursuit of speed and excellence in the world of motorsports.
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To learn more about or to become a member of the ACO USA, look no further than www.
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