Franchitti awarded MBE 14 | 06 | 2014
BATHGATE'S DARIO FRANCHITTI, who was awarded an MBE “for services to motor racing” as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours, has revealed he was poised to compete in next year's Le Mans 24-Hours.
The 41-year-old Scot is attending the world's most famous and gruelling endurance race this weekend as "a fan", on a boys' trip with his brother, Marino.
"I'm very proud to have been awarded the MBE," Franchitti, the four-times IndyCar champ and three-times Indy500 winner, said at the sun-drenched circuit today.
"It's always fantastic to have what you've achieved in your career recognised, but this was a real surprise: and I'm very grateful."
Franchitti had long held a desire to race at the Le Mans 24-Hours in partnership with younger brother Marino, who has already raced in the French endurance classic, but enforced retirement ruined those plans.
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The Scot was forced to stop racing on doctor's orders after he suffered severe concussion and fractured vertebrae during an IndyCar crash at Houston last October.
But Franchitti, who is also an ambassador for the Honda-backed 'Safe is Fast 'driver support programme, explained he was on the verge of sealing a deal for future Le Mans races.
"Racing in the Le Mans 24-Hours had always been one of my plans for the next phase of my racing career," Franchitti explained.
"And, of course, the dream had always been to partner Marino in a car. That was a big thing for us.
"We did Petit Le Mans together in the States once and finished up on the podium, and I had so much fun doing that with him.
"Obviously I was able to race in the Indianapolis 500, an fortunate to win it, and personally I consider it the greatest race in the world. Le Mans is right up there with that.
"When I was racing in IndyCar, I was given chances to race at Le Mans, but because it coincided with the busiest time of the season in the States, it wouldn't have been right to do it.
Next year, and even further into the future, I had a number of really good opportunities lined up, but it obviously wasn't meant to be."
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Jim McGill