Bathgate’s Marino Franchitti scored his debut win with his new Dyson Racing team when he powered his Mazda Lola to LMP2 victory in the latest round of the American Le Mans Series in Connecticut.
Franchitti, partnered by Butch Leitzinger, topped the LMP2 podium in front of their home crowd in Lakeville after finishing fourth overall behind the lighter and more powerful LMP1 cars at the 1.5-mile Lime Rock Park track.
Starting second in class behind the lead Acura of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, Franchitti had powered into the lead after just six minutes of the two-hour race before handing the lead over to his team-mate after 64 laps.
American Leitzinger maintained their advantage to take the chequered flag fourth overall and first in class, six laps ahead of the second-placed LMP2 Acura of Fernandez/Diaz. The victory moved Franchitti up to second in the championship.
“It’s hard to put into words what winning means not only to me, but to the whole BP Dyson Racing Mazda team,” the 30-year-old Scot, who also posted the fastest race lap in LMP2 with a 49.727 seconds, said.
“It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work from each and every person involved in the programme and I want to thank and congratulate them all for a job well done.
“We felt we had the pace to win and from very early on we showed we were in with a good shot. To get the victory today is just so satisfying and I have to say my team mate Butch did a fantastic job under tough circumstances to bring the car home.
“I’ve dreamed of winning an ALMS race for so long, have come so close on many occasions that now that it’s happened I’m going to savour it, but we’ll certainly work hard as a team to make sure we keep moving forward and of course try to repeat it in the next race.”
Franchitti begins the second half of the ALMS season in three weeks at the Mid Ohio road course in Lexington, Ohio.
Former Paul Stewart Racing driver, Brazilian Gil de Ferran — partnered by Simon Pagenaud — led from pole position to win his third ALMS race in succession in their LMP1 Acura.
JM