IRL Indycar driver Dario Franchitti has admitted that his racing future is uncertain as he recovers from back surgery. The Andretti-Green racer has been forced to miss the rest of the 2003 IRL Indycar season after sustaining the injury in a motorcycle accident and his future in the series, once recovered, is unclear.
MOTORSPORTFORUM revealed last month (30th July) that Franchitti is rumoured to be considering a switch back to the CART Champ Car series for 2004. Speaking recently to AUTOSPORT magazine, the Scot admitted that there are no guarantees he will be back racing for Andretti-Green in the IRL next season.
"There is a lot of speculation about what I'll be doing, but nothing is decided yet, and it's very early", explained Franchitti.
The rumours circulating in the IRL and CART paddocks now suggest that Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports outfit will lure Franchitti back to CART. Gentilozzi runs Canadian Alex Taglianni in the series this year and has intimated his desire to expand to a two car outfit for 2004. And the sparkling performances of Franchitti's replacement, American Bryan Herta may give Michael Andretti much food for thought when it comes time to select his drivers for 2004. Herta took his first IRL victory at Kansas in July while his team-mates Tony Kannan and Dan Wheldon have been pace-setters this season.
Franchitti refused to support or deny the CART rumours, and unsurprisingly is focused on getting fit: "All I'm really concerned about at the moment is getting fit again." But the Scot has unfinished business in IRL having only competed in 3 rounds of the championship, missing the blue riband Indy 500 in May. The Scot publicly suggested the Indy 500 was one of the reasons he swapped CART for the IRL at the end of 2002.
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