Indy 500 winner’s daughter set to sing in St. Pete (Update)
03/25/14
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| Anna de Ferran |
Anna de Ferran, the daughter of 2003 Indy 500 winner and two-time IndyCar Champion (2000 and 2001), Gil de Ferran, is used to basking in her father’s glory, but this year at the Verizon IndyCar Series season-opener Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg (March 30th on ABC), she will be the focus of attention as she sings ‘God Bless America’ during the pre-race ceremonies.
At 19 years of age, this will be the young singer and songwriter’s biggest ‘gig’ by far – a fact not lost on her greatest fan, her father Gil, who will be happy, in this instance, to take a back seat.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Anna," said Gil. “She has been working on her repertoire and performing in small venues back in the UK and over here near our home in Fort Lauderdale, but this will be a tremendous opportunity for her to perform in front of a much larger audience. Although it will be very daunting for her it will also be a familiar setting with lots of familiar faces. She has been brought up in and around the motorsport community and attended her first race as a tiny baby in 1995; it is perfect that she is able to combine her two passions – music and motorsport – for this audience."
Anna, who started writing and performing at the age of 13 in her native England, will offer the fans a preview of her talent on Saturday when she performs her new songs on the centre stage in the IndyCar Fan Village.
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| Anna de Ferran as a child when dad won the Indy 500 in 2003 |
"This is a huge honor for me," said an elated Anna, “it is also very overwhelming to be in such familiar territory but playing a different role. I never imagined I would be singing at an IndyCar race…It is a fantastic opportunity!"
Although Anna was raised in the United States, she was born in England – her mother Angela is English – and the family moved stateside when Gil‘s career brought him to IndyCar racing in 1995. They maintained strong ties with England and moved back for a couple of years when Brazilian-born Gil had retired from the track and worked as Sporting Director for Honda in Formula One (2005-2007). When the family returned to the States, Anna and her brother Luke stayed in England to finish their education and it was at school in Oxford that Anna developed her love of music and started a band with some school friends at the age of 13.
A highly talented young artist, Anna is also bilingual and has already recorded one song in Portuguese to compliment her English compositions. Her passion for motor sport also features heavily in her music and one of her songs ‘Drive’ is testament to this fascinating combination.
Anna is, of course, no stranger to the Winners Circle; she has joined her father there several times throughout her childhood and with her brother Luke she starred on the IndyCar TV program when they introduced the driver line up at Gil's last race in Texas in 2003, but for a young performer with great ambitions in the music world, this kind of opportunity allows her to combine her passions and make a very special debut in front of her extended IndyCar family.
For more information on Anna de Ferran please go to www.annadeferran.com where her latest seven songs can be found.