IndyCar

Dario Franchitti ends racing career on medical grounds

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  • #133906

    Some extremely disappointing news from the IndyCar world as Dario Framchitti is having to retire on medical grounds following his Houston crash:

    http://chipganassiracing.com/ViewArticle.aspx?articleid=14019

    #245234
    Lucas Wilson
    Participant

    So sad :-( , I read his column in EVO may every month, hopefully he can still drive fast cars in a non racing enviroment

    #245235
    gregwtravels
    Participant

    Sad news. I’d always hoped that Dario would show up in F1, though he’s a bit long in the tooth for it now.

    Bad year for him. Ashley leaves, a couple of accidents and now having to retire.

    #245236
    Broc Smith
    Participant

    I can’t believe now looking back that Houston will end up being his last GP. Very sad to see a great driver lose the rest of his career due to injury. I’ll miss you Dario.

    However, it would be great to see him on a Safety panel for Indycar, his years of experience can be very valuable in preventing these things.

    #245237
    Fer no.65
    Participant

    Very sad news, and a reminder of the dangers of racing.

    I don’t fancy American racing, and I don’t particularly like Franchitti but it’s terrible news that a driver has to call it a day because of the consecuences of an accident. At least he’s alive, and it’s a sensible decision, even if a tough one.

    #245238
    Victor.
    Participant

    It’s been a really weird week for motorsport…

    #245239
    Tomsk
    Participant

    Very sorry to hear this, we can be grateful he’s still in one piece. Indycar, the drivers involved and a whole standful of spectators dodged a bullet in that crash.

    Shame we won’t see him on the world stage in sportscars again either, but his enthusiasm for racing and its history will be a real asset in promoting and broadcasting the sport in the years to come.

    #245240
    Nick
    Participant

    Such a shame. He always was one of my favorite non-F1 drivers (which I admittedly also follow a lot less closely) and the crash looked violent, but not career-ending.. I’m glad he is generally alright though.

    Between this and hearing Jim Bamber is ending his career as a cartoonist for Autosport, it’s been a sad evening for motorsports..

    #245241
    Carlitox
    Participant

    I’ve never been a fan of Franchitti but I admired him a lot, his style and how versatile he was (is). The success he achieved in both CART (where I can still remember his beautiful Team Green Reynard) and IndyCar is enough to consider him one of the greatest drivers of American Open Wheel Racing. We’ll miss him a lot in the track, but he hinted he may still be involved somewhere in the team.

    So long Dario, thanks for everything. Dan would be proud.

    #245242
    Iestyn Davies
    Participant

    Sad news.. caused again by a fence pole (what he hit after coming up off Sato’s car), similar to the Wheldon crash. IndyCar needs to get a set of F1 barriers, such as those ready to be deployed at New Jersey, if that race doesn’t go ahead. At least both these guys had great and successful careers, and Dario is lucky to still have the rest of his life to lead away from driving.

    #245243
    Euro Brun
    Participant

    After seeing the crash live, I had a feeling he’d never race IndyCar again, but I thought he’d still be fine for some form of sports cars. Absolutely gutted for him, but its understandable. I always forget he’s 40 years old now.
    On the plus side, its nice to see the world of motor sport paying tribute to someone in less tragic circumstances for a change. He’s still got his life, can walk and will still have much to give to motor sport.
    http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111314

    #245244
    mrgrieves
    Participant

    As a Scot who loves his Indycar its not surprising but still makes me sad that he’s finished!

    Dario will in my opinion go down as the most underrated British champion ever! 4 Indycar title and 3 Indy 500 wins in my opinion only Mansell in my lifetime (25) years can even touch the legacy Dario left behind.

    Looks like he wants to work with developing the series and working out in the so i hope that goes well.

    Good luck in the Future Dario!

    #245245
    SP
    Participant

    Dr Steve Olvey mentioned concussion as the specific reason.

    Edit: Ganassi will have a press conference tomorrow.

    #245246
    GT Racer
    Participant

    “IndyCar needs to get a set of F1 barriers”

    The barriers/fencing Indycar uses are actually the same designs as whats used in F1 & other international racing events.
    Any series classed as an International event (Which Indycar is) has to run to the same FIA safety regulations & standards with regards to the circuits.

    Its also been reported that the decision was made as this was Dario’s 3rd serious concussion in 10 years.
    The 1st was caused in a Motorcycle road accident back in 2003, The 2nd was at Goodwood in 2006 & the 3rd was at Houston this year.

    #245247
    bull mello
    Participant

    Sorry to hear this news, but glad Dario is still around after his accident. He has been my favorite IndyCar/CART driver for some time now and he will be missed by many. Dario, Greg Moore, Zanardi and JPM were bright spots in a series that became dulled with bad politics and greedy series ownership. Considering what he has been through, Dario is one of the lucky ones. Hope he uses this opportunity to find something interesting to do next.

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