24h Le Mans
More than a month after his IndyCar accident in Houston, Texas, Dario Franchitti announced he was ending his racing career. Winner in the LM P2 class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2007 (2nd overall), the Scot followed his doctors' advice after suffering from head and vertebrae injuries.
Unlike his brother Marino, Dario Franchitti has never participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but has made several appearances in the American Le Mans Series. He finished 6th at Petit Le Mans in 2009 in a Highcroft Racing Acura, alongside Scott Sharp and David Brabham, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans that same year. The year before, the Scottish driver added his name to the winners list for the 24 Hours of Daytona while taking a shot at driving in NASCAR.
Although highly successful in IndyCar, Dario Franchitti was never able to compete against the NASCAR regulars and facing his unimpressive results decided to return to single seater racing. It was the right choix as he would go on to win three more IndyCar championship from 2009 to 2011, and take two more wins in the Indy 500, in 2010 and 2012, after his first in 2007. His four championships put him in the same category as Sébastien Bourdais and Mario Andretti at the top of American open wheel racing,. Only A.J. Foyt has more crowns with seven.
But Dario Franchitti's career almost turned upside down before the start of the 2000 season. In a heavy crash at Homestead, near Miami, he suffered cranial trauma that would take him two years to recover from, as he explains in the above video. Aside from the physical injuries, the Scot was still feeling the pains of losing his best friend, Greg Moore, who died in a violent crash at Fontana, in California, during the 1999 CART season finale (IndyCar's precursor).
This time, there will be no comeback : racing is over...at least on the track, as Dario Franchitti reveals in the release announcing his retirement : "I hope that in the end I will be able to continue in IndyCar, but this time working on the other side of the wall. I love open wheel racing and I want it to have a lot of success. I'm going to see with Chip (Ganassi, Franchitti's team owner) about how to stay involved with the team."
We will likely see Franchitti on pitlane, but he will never realise one of his dreams, to race with his brother, Marino, at Le Mans...
All of our videos are available at: www.lemans-tv.com.
Thierry Arman et Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translated by Rainier Ehrhardt / ACO
