De Ferran, who has died aged 56, beat his great friend, and fellow Brazilian Team Penske team-mate, Helio Castroneves by 0.299s after a fierce battle for honours in America’s biggest open-wheel race.
The duo saw off the challenges of Andretti Green Racing’s Tony Kanaan and Michael Andretti, and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Tomas Scheckter, de Ferran decisively grabbing the lead from Castroneves in traffic with 30 laps remaining.
