Adrián Fernández Mier (born April 20, 1963 in Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico) is a Mexican former professional race car driver and he was co-owner of the Fernandez Racing team.

Racing career

Early career

Fernández began his career in Mexico by racing motocross at the age of eight. He entered his first auto race in 1981 at the "24 Hours of Mexico" race in Mexico City 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 to 1989 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 1979 to 2003. It sanctioned the PPG Indy Car World Series from 1979 until dissolving after the 2003 season. CART was founded i ...

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, Fernández 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 Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Unfortunately his delight at taking his first win was dampened by the fatal accident suffered by

Jeff Krosnoff Jeffrey John Krosnoff (September 24, 1964 – July 14, 1996) was an American race car driver. A competitor in the CART PPG Indy Car World Series, he was killed in a racing accident during the 1996 Molson Indy Toronto. Early life and caree ...

late in the race. The win in Toronto made him the first Mexican to win a CART event since Héctor 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 Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and Mid-

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, en route to a fourth place showing in the PPG Cup race during the 1998 FedEx Championship. He captured his first career pole at

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and led the championship race for the first time in his career. Unfortunately once again Fernández was touched by tragedy — a crash at

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. In 1999, enjoying his most successful season so far in the CART series, Adrián Fernández behind the wheel of the #40 Tecate/Quaker State Reynard Ford-Cosworth completed the year sixth in the championship battle. He led the points series early in the season for the first time in his CART career, however an accident at

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

resulted in a fracture in one of his hands, forcing him to sit out for several races. However he won at Motegi,

at the Firestone Firehawk 500 and at the Marlboro 500 at Fontana, California — a race marred by the death of good friend Greg Moore. In addition, he was selected to participate in the

IROC International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...

series during 1999 where he competed against other top-named drivers including NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt. Fernández solid racing career which began in 1993, now has 80 total starts in the series. Of those starts he has finished in the top ten 41 times throughout his seven-year career. Adrian Fernandez (783448128)

In 2000 Fernández had his best season in the CART series, coming close to winning the championship despite not starting on the front row all season. He scored points in 17 of the 20 races including 2 wins at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and 3 further podium results. He finished second to

Gil de Ferran Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) is a French-born Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for Team Penske and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 5 ...

in the championship. In 2001 he founded Fernandez Racing, with former Ganassi manager

Tom Anderson Thomas Anderson (born November 8, 1970) is an American technology entrepreneur and co-founder of the social networking service, social networking website Myspace, which he founded in 2003 with Chris DeWolfe. He was later president of Myspa ...

as his partner, and ex-F1 driver

Shinji Nakano Shinji Nakano (中野信治, born 1 April 1971) is a Japanese professional racing driver. His father, Tsuneharu, was also a racing driver. He competed in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship. Racing career Pre Formula One Career Formu ...

as his teammate. He finished 3rd twice and took 2 poles that year, but his team's first victory came at

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in 2003, the first win for an owner-driver since

Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 ...

achieved the feat in 1992. That year he also ran an

IRL IRL may refer to: Places * Republic of Ireland (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code) * Irlam railway station (National Rail station code IRL), England Organizations * International Rugby League, the governing body for the sport of rugby league * I ...

entry for Asian-American

Roger Yasukawa Roger Yasukawa (born October 10, 1977) is an American-born Japanese former auto racing driver. He was born in Los Angeles, California, but holds Japanese citizenship. Yasukawa started karting in Southern California, winning the California State ...

, in partnership with

Aguri Suzuki Aguri may refer to: *Aguri (caste), Bengali Hindu agricultural caste in India *Aguri Igarashi (born 1975), female manga artist from Japan * Aguri Suzuki (born 1960), former racing driver from Japan **Aguri Suzuki F-1 Super Driving, Formula One si ...

, and for 2004 he moved the whole team to the series. Despite taking 3 wins and 4th overall in the 2004 IRL, he was unable to secure funding to race in 2005 -

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...

was driver

Scott Sharp Scott Sharp (born February 14, 1968) is an American professional racing driver in the United SportsCar Championship. He is the son of six-time SCCA champion Bob Sharp. Sharp is best known for his years as a competitor in the Indy Racing League. E ...

's personal sponsor while engine suppliers

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

insisted on Japanese driver

Kosuke Matsuura is a Japanese race car driver currently competing in the Super GT series. He previously competed in the Formula Nippon and IRL IndyCar Series. Early career After winning the Japanese Formula Dream Championship in 2001, Kosuke attracted the atte ...

in the second car.

Busch Series (2005–06)

In 2005, he drove the No. 5

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (), often shortened to Lowe's, is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States and Canada. A ...

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

in Mexico for

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...

in the first

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

race held outside the United States. In this race (called the Telcel-Motorola 200), Fernández raced in a one-time ride to help promote NASCAR racing to the local fans. He led several laps in the race before giving up the lead to eventual race winner

Martin Truex Jr. Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...

It was announced that he would run four more races in the Busch Series for

, but he did not run up front at any of those races. In 2006, he competed in two Busch races for Hendrick and competed full time in the

Grand-Am Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. ...

series for his own team with Lowe's sponsorship.

ALMS (2007–present)

In 2007, Fernández moved the team to the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

LMP2 class as an

Acura Acura is the luxury vehicle, luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched in the United States and Canada on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. It ...

factory team. His teammate was fellow Mexican and Grand-Am veteran Luis Díaz. On October 10, 2009, Fernández and his co-driver Luis Díaz won at the

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. With this victory the

Fernandez Racing

Acura ARX-01 The Acura ARX-01, later known as the HPD ARX-01 is a series of Le Mans Prototype built for sports car racing, specifically in the American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Series, and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the first purpose-built race car by ...

B concludes the season with the drivers' championship and teams' championship of the American Le Mans Series in the LMP2 category.

24 Hours of Le Mans

In the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Fernández debuts with a second place in the LMP2 category in the famous race with the Barazi-Epsilon team Zytek aboard a 07S/2 a 3.4-liter V8 prototype. His teammates were

Haruki Kurosawa Haruki is both a masculine/neutral Japanese given name and a Japanese surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese-born theatre performer *, Japanese footballer *, Nippon Professional Baseball pla ...

and

Robbie Kerr Robert "Robbie" Kerr (born 26 September 1979 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) is a British racing driver. In 2002, Kerr won the British Formula 3 championship. Career Early career In 2002 he became the British Formula Three Champion for A ...

. This was the first

podium A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used ...

of a Mexican at the

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hou ...

in many years to remember those achieved by

Ricardo Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

and Pedro Rodríguez in 1962 and 1968 respectively. The English-French team took

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

on its category. 2009Lola-AstonMartinLMP1

After three years of absence Fernández back in the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

now competing in LMP1 class with

Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston ...

finished fifth in his category (sixth absolute) with a

Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 The Lola-Aston Martin B09/60, also known as the Aston Martin DBR1-2, is a Le Mans Prototype sports car built by Lola Cars International and co-developed with Prodrive for use by Aston Martin Racing. It is the first prototype to bear the Aston ...

, his co-drivers were

Harold Primat Harold Primat (born 12 June 1975) is a French-born Swiss racing driver who previously competed in the Blancpain Endurance Series and other long-distance events such as the Bathurst 12 Hour and Nurburgring 24 Hours. Early career The nephew of ...

and

Stefan Mücke Stefan Mücke (born 22 November 1981) is a German professional racing driver. Racing career Born in Berlin, Mücke started his racing career in 1998, when he won the Formula BMW ADAC series, with his father's Mücke Motorsport team, also making ...

. The luck did not favor Adrian in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, when his team the

in LMP1 class can barely afford 2 laps with their

Aston Martin AMR-One The Aston Martin AMR-One was a Le Mans Prototype sports car built by Prodrive's Aston Martin Racing arm. The car was a successor to the Aston Martin DBR1-2. Development To meet the new regulations brought in by the ACO for endurance racing, ...

and leave the test due to problems with the engine running at the 56th site. In the 80th., edition of the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Fernández and the Aston Martin Racing Team got the third place in the GTE-Pro class along with his co-drivers the Stefan Mücke and

Darren Turner Darren Turner (born 13 April 1974) is a British professional racing driver and owner of Base Performance Simulators. He races for Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver and also works as a high performance test driver for Aston Martin. He was ...

, their Aston Martin Vantage 4.5 L-V8 covered a total of 332 laps (2,811.65 miles), in the Circuit de la Sarthe without failure or serious mechanical problems. Also the team achieved the

fastest lap In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. Some racing series, like Formula One, Formula 2 and Formula E award championship points for a driver or team that set the fastest lap. In Grand Prix motorcycle racing no point i ...

of the category with 3 minutes and 54,928 seconds. Adrián had the honor to drive the last stage of the competition. On September 12, 2012, Fernández announced that his participation in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...

concludes at the end of the season, as well his relationship with the Aston Martin Racing team that started in 2010. The Mexican driver will focus on competitions in the United States.

Sergio Pérez's manager

On September 28, 2012

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver

Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...

announced that Férnandez will be his manager.

Turn 12 Adrián Fernández

On September 20, 2016, Fernández's achievements have been recognised by the naming of Turn 12 of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in his honour.

Personal life

Fernández retired from motorsports in 2012. He has two children: Valentina and Niko Fernández, and he married long time girlfriend and former beauty queen, author and retired actress

Priscila Perales Priscila Perales (born Silvia Priscila Perales Elizondo; February 24, 1983 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico) is a Mexican actress, spokesperson, beauty queen, author and former model. She was crowned Nuestra Belleza México 2005 (Miss Mexico). ...

on October 21, 2017. They got marriedDa Priscila el 'sí' a Adrián
/ref> on May 4, 2018, in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

. The happy couple announced their son Adrián Fernández Jr. was born on October 29, 2020.

Motorsports career results

American Open-Wheel

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

CART results

IndyCar Series results

Complete American Le Mans Series results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

NASCAR

(

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Nationwide Series

International Race of Champions

(

) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

References

Bibliography

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Adrian 1965 births 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers American Le Mans Series drivers Champ Car drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indy Lights drivers IndyCar Series drivers IndyCar Series team owners International Race of Champions drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Living people Mexican expatriates in the United States Mexican people of Spanish descent Mexican racing drivers Mexican Indianapolis 500 drivers NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from Mexico City FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Hendrick Motorsports drivers Mexican Formula Three Championship drivers Aston Martin Racing drivers Tasman Motorsports drivers Mo Nunn Racing drivers JR Motorsports drivers Team Aguri drivers