I had the pleasure at Brands Hatch to sit down with popular young French driver Thomas Ferrando who drives the number 37 Knauf Racing car in Elite 2 of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. Thomas is just 17 years old and is in his second full year of NASCAR racing. So how did he start in motorsport?
“I was born into a motorsport mad family and my father was a huge rallying fan. He took me to watch rallying when I was a very young child and I fell in love with racing. I knew straight away what I wanted to do!”
As with most racers he started off in Karts, and at just six years old his natural talent started to flourish. He was a natural racer and proved to be one of the best drivers in the French Championship;
“The fact that I didn’t quite win the championship is the low point of my career so far. However, it did make me even more determined to be a winner in the future.”
As with many young racers, it was at this point that he had to concentrate on school. One can only imagine how tough that would have been for a young man who just wanted to race.
“I watch any motorsport and my heroes are Ayrton Senna and Niki Lauda in Formula One. In NASCAR I love to watch old races of Dale Earnhardt and it was watching him that made me want to race in NASCAR. Also as a Frenchman I love to watch Sebastian Loeb both in rallying and WTCC.”
There is, however, a tragic story linked to Thomas’ racing heroes as one of his best friends is Jules Bianchi. In fact, he lists Jules as his ultimate hero.
“I cannot bring myself to go and see Jules in hospital as I want to think of him as he was. Bernie Ecclestone said the same about Michael Schumacher and I understand that.”
Thomas loves to watch any sport and is a keen fan of local football team Olympique de Marseille, one of the biggest clubs in France. He does go to watch them whenever possible and, while he’s disappointed they won’t be in the Champions League next season, he is happy that they have the Europa League to look forward to.
At the age of 13 a good friend took him along to test a NASCAR European Series car. NASCAR had not yet come on board with the series that was then called Euro Racecar. He impressed in the car despite his tender years and his name was noted for the future. Then, in 2014 he got his breakthrough in what is now called NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, when he signed to drive for Knauf Racing in the Elite 2 championship.
Thomas was just 16 in his debut year and soon showed himself to be very quick, with race wins soon following for the young rookie at The Nurburgring where he had a double win.
“The best moment of my career so far,” he said.
He quickly became a fan’s favourite with his trademark cowboy hat making him one of the most recognisable drivers in the series. The video of his “Ice Bucket Challenge” is one of the funniest out there.
So how about the future? Now 17, Thomas has become a regular race winner and is amongst the favourites to be the 2015 Elite 2 Champion. We are talking a very ambitious young man here who knows exactly where he wants to go;
“I am proud to drive for Knauf Racing and it’s the perfect team for me! I want to race in America in the Sprint Cup Series, this is my main ambition. I would also like to drive V8 Supercars in Australia at the Bathurst 1000 and, like every racer, I want to do Le Mans.”
In my humble opinion, Thomas will go on to fulfill at least one of his ambitions sooner rather than later. When we spoke at Brands Hatch he was not only driving, but also acting as spotter for Jeffrey Earnhardt, with the two becoming friends.
As for his racing weekend at Brands Hatch, he qualified well but wrecked in Saturday’s first race. As if to prove his talent though, Thomas stormed to victory in Sunday’s race two and celebrated wildly. With both Jeffrey Earnhardt and NASCAR’s Steve O’ Donnell present at the weekend, word will soon go back to the USA about Thomas Ferrando.
Thomas is one of the most personable, polite and friendly people I have ever met. To me there is absolutely no doubt that he will grace NASCAR in years to come, and American fans will love his personality and fierce determination to win.
Written in tribute to Jules Bianchi #ForzaJules
Main photo credit:
Wikimedia images
