Hoy on course, but Franchitti suffersposted in LEMANS18 | 06 | 2016
WHILE OLYMPIC LEGEND Sir Chris Hoy opened his Le Mans 24-Hours racing debut with a 30-lap triple-stint, fellow Scot Marino Franchitti saw any hopes of a GTE Pro class win disappear even before the race started.
Franchitti, the 37-year-old from Bathgate, watched from the garage as his #67 Ford GT was trollied back into the garage as the rest of the 60-car field started the 84th running of the world’s most gruelling endurance race.
As the rain lashed the 8.45-mile circuit, forcing the race director to start the iconic race behind the safety car, Franchitti’s car sat motionless surrounded by technicians.
As team-mate Andy Priaulx, who was scheduled to start the race, sat — at least outwardly — calmly in the car, repairs were carried out to the car’s gear-selection mechanism.
But after rejoining the race already two laps down, Priaulx was forced to pit the car again less than an hour later. This time the car sat in the garage for almost an hour-and-three-quarters.
Again the problem lay with the gearbox, and when the #67 finally emerged from the garage with Harry Tincknell behind the wheel, it was 60th and last, and 33 laps behind the leader.
Related: Sir Chris Hoy — Le Mans Interview
Frustratingly for Franchitti, when he finally got into the car, he was able to lap within a second of his Ford team-mates who led the GTE Pro class in the #68 and #69 cars. The third Ford, #66, was fourth.
Hoy, meanwhile, immediately demonstrated he has the ability to compete at the highest level in world motorsport.
On-track for the first time in the race he publicly announced three years ago he would contest, the six-time Olympic gold medallist impressed in his Nissan-powered Algarve Pro Racing Ligier LMP2 sportscar.
While Frenchman Andrea Pizzitola, his lead driver in the team, averaged 3mins 44secs round the circuit — which dried after the first hour of the race — Hoy’s laps times hovered around 3:50.2, just six seconds off the pace.
The Scot, who had stated his primary goal was to “ensure I do my best for the team”, never, at any stage, looked as though he was out of place mixing it with the best sportscar racers in the world.
Hovering just outside the top 10 in LMP2, Hoy was content with his opening time behind the wheel.
“I’m happy with that,” he admitted before heading off for a bowl of pasta and a sleep. “But as has always been the case, I know where I can improve, and that’s what I’ll be focussing on next time I’m in the car.”
At the front of the field, the three big-hitters, Audi, Toyota and Porsche — last year’s winners — were locked in a tight battle, with the #6 Toyota of Frenchman Stephane Sarrazin fending off the #2 and #1 Porsche of pole sitter Neel Jani and Aussie Mark Webber respectively.
Related: Le Mans winner McNish tips Hoy to succeed on debut
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Jim McGill