Scots ready for Daytona 24posted in MSPOR24 | 01 | 2013
AMERICA'S BLUE RIBAND sportscar race, the Daytona 24 Hours, takes place in Florida this weekend (Jan 26/27), and four of Scotland's fastest racers will be battling for glory.
Past winners Dario Franchitti and Ryan Dalziel, plus fellow Scots Mario Franchitti and Allan McNish, are amongst the favourite to claim overall victory in the 59-car field.
Run over 3.56-miles of the the bumpy infield course and the famous Daytona oval, this year sees the 51st running of the historic race.
Second only in reputation to the Le Mans 24-Hours, the famous race held on closed-off public roads in the centre of France in June, Daytona is big.
Watched by hundreds of thousands of motorsport fans, many from the beer-laden roofs of their monstrously large trackside motorhomes, the Daytona has always attracted a solid lineup of international stars.
This year is no exception, with the entry list including 16 drivers with Formula One experience and 69 drivers from 21 countries outside of the USA.
“This race definitely has an international atmosphere,” McNish, the 43-year-old from Dumfries, a double winner at Le Mans, said today.
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“It gives us drivers an opportunity to ‘play’ with some of the American stars from Nascar and IndyCar, along with many of the names we grew up in other categories as well.
“The international flavour has always been here, but the standard of the drivers is higher today among the leading teams. I don’t think there are many of the prototype cars that are not capable of running up front.”
This year McNish returns to Daytona to partner Wishaw's Ryan Dalziel in the Starworks Motorsport Riley-Ford. And he aims to go one place better than 12 months ago.
"Last year we finished second, just 5.198secs behind the winner," McNish continued, "and this year we're here to win.
"The Daytona 24 is the only major endurance race I haven't won, and I really want to have it on my CV. Hopefully we can do the business this weekend."
It's a view backed by Dalziel (pictured), who starts 2103 still coming to terms with the stunning success he achieved last year.
Not only was he crowned FIA LMP2 World Endurance champ, but he won the LMP2 class at Le Mans, and claimed victory in countless other races.
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"Yeh, it was definitely the best year of my racing career," the 30-year-old, who won at Daytona in 2010 and who now lives in Florida, just miles from the circuit, said.
"But now we start the new year with a clean sheet of paper, and I want to do it all again: hopefully starting with a win this weekend."
Dalziel and McNish are joined by French ace Sebastien Bourdais and Venezuelan star Alex Popow in the Starworks team.
"We've a really strong set-up this year," Dalziel continued. "It's the one race that me and the team want.
"We let it slip away last year. You can’t do that at Daytona when you have such a fast, reliable car. We definitely feel we're a stronger team this year.
“It's my home track and the home race for the team. We don’t need extra motivation, but it's always nice for me to go to my own bed. I love Daytona and I want to win it again probably more than any other race.”
For three-time Indy500 winner and four-time IndyCar champ Dario Franchitti, the Daytona takes him out of his single-seater comfort zone. But the 39-year-old relishes the sportscar action.
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"I love it," be beamed. "Being part of an intensive team for 24 hours of racing, with all the driver-changes and next-to-no sleep, is such a buzz.
"Like Ryan, I'm fortunate to have won here before, but I'd certainly love to win it again."
Franchitti will drive one of the Riley-BMWs run by Ganassi, which also includes former F1 race winner Juan Pablo Montoya, Nascar winner Jamie McMurray and IndyCar champ Scott Dixon.
But while Franchitti, McNish and Dalziel head into the race full of confidence, having run comfortably in the top five during practice, Marino Franchitti faces a tough weekend.
The 34-year-old from Bathgate will debut the all-new SkyActiv-D clean diesel-powered Mazda6. It's the first time a diesel-powered vehicle of any type has ever raced at Daytona.
"We had a few wee technical issues at the test," Marino explained, "but this is a brand new car which is still in development, so that was to be expected.
"We'll be on the pace for the race, but we know it's going to be a long, tough and demanding weekend: but we're up for it."
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Jim McGill