Almost a year after he last raced in single-seaters, Dario Franchitti signalled his return to Champs Cars by posting the third-quickest time in pre-qualifying for Sunday’s race at Surfers’ Paradise in Australia.
And the 35-year-old Scot, who won the IndyCar Championship and Indy500 last season, believes he can mark his comeback with victory.
“I certainly don’t see why I can’t win,” the Bathgate driver said after his first competitive outing in the Target Ganassi car today . “I’ve won here before and we certainly have the pace to win again.
“It’s a bit ironic that after a year in Nascar I’m making my single-seater return at one of my favourite circuits. I love it here and I’d love to repeat the win I had back in 1999.”
Franchitti clocked a best time of 1min 36.1712secs, 1.3628s slower than the provisional polesitter, Aussie Will Power, but fast enough to be four places ahead of his Kiwi team-mate, 2008 champ Scott Dixon.
JM