Franchitti denied Sebring 12Hr win by 30secsposted in ALMS20 | 03 | 2011
YOUNG PRETENDER Marino Franchitti won the battle of the Scots ahead of Allan McNish in the Sebring 12-Hours race in Florida, the opening round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. But the 31-year-old from Bathgate ultimately had to settle for second place, a tantalising 31.868secs behind the winning Oreca Peugeot.
It was a major achievement for Franchitti's Highcroft Racing team whose petrol-powered HPD ARX-01e only ran for the first time seven days before the start of the gruelling race at the bumpy 3.7-mile, 17-corner International Raceway.
"We came very, very close," Franchitti, partnered by Aussie David Brabham and Frenchman Simon Pagenaud, admitted today. "Considering how new our car is, it's a stunning result for everyone in the team.
"The monumental effort everyone has put in to make this happen, and the hours they have worked is just unbelievable. Our pitstops were perfect, the strategy was perfect, we did nothing to the car except give it fuel and tyres all day.
“It's all the more amazing when you consider the car was built, sent to Florida, we only ran it for the first time last Saturday with a systems check and then got stuck into testing on Monday.
“Obviously it wasn't really the ideal preparation for one of the biggest sportscar races in the world but when you think about the result we picked up today, it is absolutely stunning.
"Of course we'd have loved to have won the race, but boy, it's fantastic to finish on the podium and just 30 seconds behind a car which has been racing and under constant development for the past five years; in comparison we've had five days' track time."
McNish meanwhile, bidding for a fourth win at Sebring and again partnered by Italian Dindo Capello and Dane Tom Kristensen, saw his hopes disappear when his Audi R15TDI was rammed by the works' Peugeot of Marc Gene. The suspension damage meant the Audi lost seven laps while repairs were carried out.
“It was a tense and close fought battle as we’d expected but our bid for victory was destroyed when Gene miscalculated entering one of the fast turns and hit the side of Dindo which damaged our car’s suspension,” the disappointed 41-year-old from Dumfries explained. "Even more annoying because we were lying second at the time.
“We rejoined the race in 17th place and thanks to the reliability of the Audi, and the speed of all three drivers and the pitcrew, we battled back to finish fourth.
"Ultimately it's disappointing because we know we had the pace to win this race and we missed out due to an incident which we had no control over.
"It's a pity because this was the last race for the R15. Now though we'll concentrate on the new Audi R18 TDI coupe and focus on winning the Le Mans 24-Hours in June."
The race was won, surprisingly, by the Oreca first-generation Peugeot 908 HDi driven by Nicolas Lapierre, Loic Duval and Olivier Panis which outlasted the two new 2011 second-generation Peugeot works' cars.
The new 908 — which Peugeot is pinning its hopes on repeating its win at Le Mans in June — finished third and eighth. The lead French car of Franck Montagny, Stephane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy dropped back when it required a new nose section, and Gene's car lost time following its collision with McNish's Audi.
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Jim McGill
Caption: Marino Franchitti (right) celebrates his podium finish in the Sebring 12-Hours with his Highcroft Racing team-mate David Brabham.