FRANCHITTI PLOTS MORE RACES NEXT YEAR
Indycar legend drives Mazda MX-5 in Race of Remembrance and plans a Goodwood Revival return in 2020
Indycar legend Dario Franchitti is eyeing further appearances in historic racing next year, following the latest outing of his post-injury comeback at Anglesey’s Race of Remembrance last weekend.
Four-time Indycar champion and three-time Indy 500 winner Franchitti retired from racing in 2013 after injuries sustained in an Indycar crash at Houston. However, he returned to competition at the Goodwood Revival earlier this year. Race of Remembrance, an endurance race run by the Mission Motorsport charity, was the second outing of his comeback.
Franchitti finished 21st in the Anglesey event in a Mission Motorsport-run Mazda MX-5, alongside his GT racer brother Marino, journalist and racer Dickie Meaden, newly-crowned
Ferrari Challenge UK champion Jamie Clarke, and charity beneficiary Sophie Burt, who was making her racing debut and only received her licence on the morning of qualifying.
Franchitti told MN he is putting plans together for more historic racing appearances in 2020. “We’re formulating some plans right now with different historic stuff for next year,” he said. “The Revival’s already in the calendar, Members’ Meeting I would like to do that too, maybe some other historic stuff around the world, time will tell if they fit.”
He added though that his Formula E TV commentary duties, work as a driver coach for the Ganassi Indycar team among other commitments made it difficult to find weekends in which to race.
“[I’ll] see what I can, what I can’t do,” Franchitti continued. “Between the Formula E, that and the Indycar calendar, it’s a pretty busy schedule of weekends, so it’s very difficult to find weekends away. I’ve got a young family at home, so to spend too much time doing it [racing] would be difficult.”
He added that he is also open to taking part in modern racing. “[It] very much depends on a case-by-case basis,” Franchitti said, “what it would be, what car it would be in, what type of racing it is. Right now, I’m just looking at different fun things to do.” He added he would like to return to the Race of Remembrance.
Franchitti explained also that he got an ‘all clear’ from doctors to return to competitive action after outlining the sort of racing planned. “They felt with the time that had gone by and the stuff I was talking about driving that they were happy if I passed my medical,” he added. “Them and the insurance company were on the same page with that, so it all worked out.”