Adrián Fernández

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Adrián Fernández : biography

April 20, 1965 –
* Season in progress.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos.|Overall Position}} ClassPos.|Class Position}}
2007 Barazi-Epsilon Zytek Engineering Haruki Kurosawa Robbie Kerr Zytek 07S/2 LMP2 301 27th 2nd
2010 Aston Martin Racing Harold Primat Stefan Mücke Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 LMP1 365 6th 5th
2011 Aston Martin Racing Harold Primat Andy Meyrick Aston Martin AMR-One LMP1 2 DNF DNF
2012 Aston Martin Racing Stefan Mücke Darren Turner Aston Martin Vantage GTE GTEPro 332 19th 3rd

Racing career

Early career

Adrián Fernández began his career by racing motocross at age eight. He entered his first auto race in 1981 at the "24 Hours of Mexico" and at the age of 15 he made the permanent move to cars in 1982. From 1982 to 1984 Fernández competed in the Formula Vee Championship taking the title in ’83 and ’84. He also raced in the Formula K Series in 1984, competing in that series through 1986. He finished in the top four in the standings all three years in Formula K.

In 1987, he ran one race in the Benelux Formula Ford 1600 Championship, one British RAC Formula Ford 1600 Championship race and competed in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. From 1988-89 he ran the British RAC and Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship series before moving to the Mexican F3 Championship for 1990 and 1991, winning the title in ’91.

In 1992, Fernández came to the United States to compete in the Firestone Indy Lights Championship (now the PPG-Dayton Indy Lights Championship). He finished third in the points winning four races, a rookie record, and took the "Indy Lights Rookie of the Year" honors and made more than two million dollars in prize earnings.

CART and IRL (1993-2004)

His talent apparent, Fernández made the jump to the CART IndyCar World Series in 1993, competing in five races for Galles Racing International. He ran his first full CART season in 1994 with Galles finishing 13th and capturing the "Marco Magaña" and "Luchador Olmeca" awards and the "JAC" trophy for "Best Driver" outside Mexico. Competing again with Galles in 1995, Fernandez finished 12th in the standings placing in the top ten nine times.

Fernández moved to Tasman Motorsports in 1996. He had six top ten finishes, including his first career CART victory at Toronto. Unfortunately his delight at taking his first win was dampened by the fatal accident suffered by Jeff Krosnoff late in the race. The win in Toronto made him the first Mexican to win a CART event since Hector Rebaque in 1982, and Fernández went on to finish 12th in the season points tally. However, 1997 was a disappointing season for Fernández. The Tasman team ran a Lola chassis which failed to perform to expectations. Through force of will, determination and talent, Fernández battled to three top ten finishes and 18th place in the PPG Cup standings.

Fernández joined Patrick Racing for the 1998 season and proved his ability to challenge for the championship. He enjoyed 14 top ten finishes with eight top five placements and two victories, Japan and Mid-Ohio, en route to a fourth place showing in the PPG Cup race during the 1998 Fed Ex Championship. He captured his first career pole at Michigan and led the championship race for the first time in his career. Unfortunately once again Fernández was touched by tragedy – a crash at Michigan resulted in an errant wheel from his car flying into the stands and killing three spectators. However, it was his victory during the Miller Lite 200 that gave Patrick Racing one of its most memorable moments when Fernández stood atop the podium next to his teammate Scott Pruett. Fernández was also named the "Athlete of the Year" in Mexico.