By Donald Miralle, Getty ImagesDario Franchitti, driver of the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda units in front of teammate Scott Dixon, the driver of the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda IndyCar Series during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
By Donald Miralle, Getty ImagesDario Franchitti, driver of the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda units in front of teammate Scott Dixon, the driver of the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda IndyCar Series during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Franchitti began defense of his IndyCar Series title with a victory and two podiums before Sunday's race on the streets of the largest city in South America. Still, the Scot feels that he needs to improve its performance to be competitive with the rest of the year and remain in position to win his third straight Championship. "I'm not disappointed, but I'm not completely happy, "said Franchitti before heading to Brazil for the race this weekend. "Obviously, points wise that I'm happy with the position we find ourselves, but performance wise we can still improve."Franchitti, seeking her fourth title of the series overall, won the season opener at St. Petersburg on March 27 and finished third in the next two races in Alabama and in Long Beach. He takes the riders with 122 points, seven more than the willpower of Australia and 35 more than Tony Kanaan of Brazil ".It is still not time to look at the scoreboard, he very soon, "he said. "Somehow, we're happy with our position in the Championship, but we're still struggling".Despite good results early, Franchitti said the performance of your car in the first three races showed that his team Target Chip Ganassi Racing has much room for improvement.I had a strong race in St. Petersburg, but not so good at Barber (Motorsports Park in Alabama), "he said. "Speed is not there but made some aggressive movements. In Long Beach race performance was good, but not so good in qualifying, although there did some good improvements in the road for the rest of the season. "Franchitti's teammate, Scott Dixon, was second in Alabama, but struggled in the other two races, finishing in the top 15. The são Paulo 300 will Crown a four-race stretch on the road and street circuits before the series moves to four ovals, starting with the Indy 500 on May 29. The agenda then blend oval and road races before finishing with three events on ovals. The last race on the Schedule 17-event takes place in Las Vegas on October 16. Franchitti, the two-time defending champion, also won the Championship in 2007. He is a winner of the Indy 500, taking the trophy in 2007 and last year.Franchitti has been dominating the first part of this season along with energy. The driver of the Penske is a road-course specialist and has performed, as well as the Scot — maybe even better.Power started from the pole in every race this year, finishing second at the premiere in St. Petersburg and win the race in Alabama. He led the first part of the Long Beach race, but could only manage a 12th place after being hit from behind by teammate Helio Castroneves in the final restart. "Obviously, his performance was good, too, "said Franchitti. "He is a strong competitor and has a good team behind him. (São Paulo) is a tough battle between the Ganassi and Penske guys. "Power led a total of 125 laps in the first three races, while Franchitti took 94. The nearest driver in laps led is teammate Ryan Briscoe Penske Power, with 35. Other drivers for led laps so far are Dixon, Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt Motorsports, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Andretti Autosport and his teammate, Mike Conway, the winner in the streets of long Beach. Franchitti started Sao Paulo last year 300 polebut struggled to stay in front in a savage race that had to be stopped because of a severe storm near the middle of the event. "We were quick in the race but had the wrong strategy with the rain, putting at the wrong time, "said the Scotsman 37 years of age.Franchitti, a NASCAR driver, like urban circuit in São Paulo, which passes through a stadium-like Sambadrome and has the allure of longer always immediately with just short of a mile from the series.He did not like, however, collisions that caused problems for almost all drivers in the race last year and is expecting the wear which took place on the track improves the driving conditions.Sao Paulo last year 300 opened the season of IndyCar and beyond rain and bumpy track, the race was also marked by a smooth concrete immediately had to be repaired overnight and forced to qualifying taking place on race day for the first time in the series. "It is a very interesting topic, said Franchitti. "Collisions are part of the challenges of each street circuit, but here was very bumpy last year. I am confident that the resurfacing will fix it, so I'm looking forward to it. "
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