Motorsport: Marino roars to victory in front of home crowd

Jul 23 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

BATHGATE motorsport star Marino Franchitti roared to his first win for the Dyson Racing team when he powered his Mazda Lola to LMP2 victory in the Le Mans Series at Connecticut.

Franchitti, partnered by Butch Leitzinger, topped the LMP2 podium in front of their home crowd in Lakeville after finishing fourth overall behind the lighter and more powerful LMP1 cars at the 1.5-mile Lime Rock Park track.

The 30-year-old West Lothian ace said: “It’s hard to put into words what winning means not only to me but to the whole BP Dyson Racing Mazda team.

“I have dreamt of winning an ALMS race for so long and have come so close on several occasions that now that it’s happened I’m going to savour it.”

The win was also Dyson Racing’s first victory in the American LeMans series since 2005.

The victory also ended a four-race winning streak for Lowe’s Fernandez Racing and Acura in the LMP-2 class.

Franchitti moved ahead of Luis Diaz just six minutes into the two-hour race, and the Lola-Mazda coupe lapped the Lowe’s Fernandez racing car when the Acura pitted to replace its rear shock and also experienced downshift problems.

By the time Adrian Fernandez rejoined the race, Franchitti was ahead by six laps.

“I don’t think we could have picked a better place for the first win in the Mazda,” said Franchitti.

“We felt we had the pace to win and from very early on both cars showed we were in with a good shot.

“To overcome the issues we had and get the victory today is just so satisfying and I have to say my team mate Butch did a fantastic job under tough circumstances to bring the car home.

“It was a combination of a lot of hard work for both cars I have been so close, either overall or in class, it is really a sweet victory. I’m getting a sore face from grinning.”

Leitzinger gave the team a scare just before the end when he stalled as he tried to dodge a spinning GT2 car. The Lola-Mazda’s clutch had failed early in the race, and Leitzinger had to restart the car on battery power.

But they recovered to take the chequered flag and the win moves Franchitti up to second in the championship.