Despite publicly claiming his desire was to stay with the CART series in 2003, Dario Franchitti has defected to the rival IRL series with team-boss Michael Andretti and Tony Kannan. Some expected Franchitti to stick with the ChampCar circuit; the Scot was often touted as a replacement for Christian Fittipaldi at Newman-Haas. Others however maintained that the lure of the big-bucks from Honda and Andretti-Green's sponsors, whoever they turn out to be, would be too much. It is sad that Franchitti is leaving the championship, especially since he had been such a vocal supporter in the past. As the dust settles many will criticise the Scot for leaving and others will applaud him. But as with most things there were both reasons for him to stay and reasons for him to go.
For starters, why was he right to go? Well, the sizeable amounts of cash that various sponsors and Honda were tempting Franchitti with would no doubt have tempted even the most vocal supporter of CART. But there is far more to it than that. Primarily, with the CART and IRL championships setting out on very different courses, the only way for Franchitti to have a shot at the Indy 500 was through a full-time switch to the IRL. This is perhaps the main reason for his switch.
Following in the footsteps of Jim Clark was clearly something the Scotsman was desperate to do. His excitement during the month of May last year, even after a qualifying nightmare is testament enough to his enthusiasm for the Brickyard. His defection gives him a better shot at winning than he had last season with Team Green's crack IRL squad and given the calendar changes for CART, defection to the IRL was realistically the only chance he had to compete at Indy in 2003.
The opportunity to compete at Indy is one thing, but having a real chance of wining is quite another and with Honda backing Franchitti will be as well-equipped as anyone to get his face on the Borg-Warner trophy.
Aside from the chance to compete at and potentially win Indy, Franchitti now also has the chance to be at the centre of the action so to speak. With the defection of Andretti-Green and Chip Ganassi Racing, an increased presence from other CART teams and the involvement of Honda and Toyota, for the next few seasons at least the IRL will dominate the media coverage of single-seater racing in North America. Given that Franchitti's fame in North American is a hundred times greater than in his homeland and further afield, the Scot is right to maximise his potential. Defecting to the IRL was one way of doing that.
Furthermore, by staying in the CART series, Franchitti was likely to face a severly weakened field. For someone who nearly beat Montoya to the championship in '99 and has been the only real contender to da Matta this season, racing against a field minus da Matta, Andretti and Fittipaldi would have been a serious disappointment. In the past Franchitti has rightly felt that the rest of the motor sport world, and F1 in particular has treated him badly. His talent has gone unnoticed despite the fact he raced and beat F1's champion elect Montoya and was brave enough to tackle the ovals of the US. To race next season in CART and finally win the championship against a weakened field would perhaps have done more damage to his reputation outside of the US than good.
Clearly there is much to support the defection of Franchitti and in some ways to support the defection of fellow racers such as Kannan. But as with most things, there are as many reasons to say he was wrong.
He does have the chance to win the Indy 500 but is it really the same prestigious event that it was even five or six years ago? Before the CART/IRL split, racing drivers from around the world still held the 500 in nearly the same high regard as the Monaco GP and Le Mans. Undoubtedly the 500 is the jewel in the crown of US racing and its profile now is perhaps higher in the US than it was in the early nineties. But for the rest of the world it has become something of a sideshow. Much of this has to be down to the 500 being part of the all-oval IRL now and the fact only IRL drivers will genuinely be able to compete has now further marginalised this once great sporting institution. Franchitti may now have a good shot at winning but the question is whether the kudos of victory is the same as it was.
The same can be said of the rest of the world's opinion of Indy-type racing. As a European racer, Franchitti will always harbour dreams of competing in F1, no matter how remote the chances may be. Unfortunately, converting to the IRL will once and for all scupper his chances of ever getting to F1. Given that the F1 fraternity has a bad opinion of the CART series, contemplating their attitude to the IRL boys doesn't bare thinking about.
And then of course there are the business considerations of a switch to the IRL. MOTORSPORTFORUM has stated before that the IRL is navigating a very similar course to the one CART took several years ago and that the reliance they are about to develop on major engine manufacturers could be their undoing. Where will this leave drivers and teams? The CART series may be struggling but with positive moves finally being made and the impressive Chris Pook at the helm, staying with CART now may have served Franchitti better in the long run. The ChampCar circuit could come out of its 'depression' stronger and better than before, becoming a genuinely international series while the IRL will become ever more parochial. Furthermore who can tell what will happen when Honda and Toyota inevitably lose interest in the IRL as they have done with CART?
There are unquestionably many different angles from which to consider this issue. In a way, Franchitti's move to the IRL is just a convenient means to frame the wider argument of whether CART or the IRL will succeed in the long run. In the end only time will answer most of the unanswered questions but MOTORSPORTFORUM is putting its money on Dario's move doing more for his bank balance than anything else.
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