Franchitti wins in Baltimoreposted in ALMS01 | 09 | 2013
BATHGATE'S MARINO FRANCHITTI extended his lead in the American Le Mans Series LMP2 Championship with a dominant win in Baltimore.
The 35-year-old Scot, piloting his Honda-powered Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b, was in a class of his own, despite racing at the 2.02-mile circuit for the first time.
Despite having to learn the bumpy inner-harbour street circuit during free practice and qualifying, Franchitti started the race from fourth in LMP2 and seventh overall.
With the first stint of the 75-minute race handled by his American co-driver, Guy Cosmo, Franchitti took over the car with 38mins remaining.
"Guy did a fantastic first stint, and handed the car to me leading the LMP2 class, and 13th overall," the Scot said yesterday (Sun).
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But with the second-placed LMP2 car of Scott Sharp just 0.211s behind Franchitti, he was immediately under pressure to deliver. The Scot didn't disappoint.
A series of dazzling laps, including the fastest of the race, a 1min 28.783secs on the final lap of the race, saw him not only accelerate away from Sharp, but through the rest of the 31-car field.
"That was a fantastic race," Franchitti, who not only sealed his fourth LMP2 win of the season, but also stormed through to finish third overall, beamed.
"The team did another fantastic job. We had a great car for the race after the few technical problems we had in free practice.
"Guy did a great job, and everything was just seamless. I’m glad we were able to get the win for the guys after the hard work they put in.
"It was a really challenging weekend. Having never been here before, track time was all important for me and I was still learning in qualifying.
"I think that showed, but it all came together in the race and I was delighted to take the win."
Franchitti now heads to the next round in Texas in three weeks leading the championship by 16 points from Level 5 team-mate Scott Tucker. The American was forced to retire his car after it was damaged in a five-car pile-up at the start of the race.
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Jim McGill
Photo: Dan Boyd