Rand Racing record Phoenix pole

Phoenix International Raceway
qualifying, April 19, 2002

record pole

Marino Franchitti drove the No. 7 Rand Racing Nissan Lola to a record class 
pole position in qualifying for Saturday's Rolex Sports Car Series race on 
the 1.51-mile Phoenix International Raceway road course.  His lap time of 
56.339 seconds was good for the SRPII class pole and a track class record.  
SRPII points leader Terry Borcheller was a close second in the No. 8 Rand 
Lola (56.580).  Bill Rand and Niclas Jönsson will drive the No. 7 car with 
Franchitti, and Ralf Kelleners will share driving duties in the No. 8.

"I think I'm still in shock," Franchitti said.  "I didn't expect to be on the 
pole.  I hoped I could be within a couple of tenths [of a second] of Terry, 
but to be a couple of tenths in front of him is fantastic.  It's testament to 
the whole Rand/Risi team.  Nic and I worked through a program in the test 
sessions this weekend, and between the two of us we worked the car very close 
to the other car.  To go out there and get the pole for Nic and myself and 
the whole team is just great.  It's just amazing."

"As always, the guys kept the car progressing all weekend and it was the best 
it's been in qualifying," Borcheller said.  "It's going to be a really, 
really fun race car.  I was a bit upset to get nipped by Marino, but he had 
an outstanding qualifying run.  I brought the tires in slowly and they're 
perfect for the race, so there was no point to go out and try for more."

fit to race

Bill Rand is reaping the benefits of an intense development program he 
started last fall to improve his race performance.  He frequently practices 
in a shifter kart in the 110-degree Texas heat, works out with a personal 
trainer and eats healthy food.  He has dropped about 20 pounds and says his 
fitness helps both his physical driving ability and his mental focus.

"Go-karting has improved everything I've done in the race car; it's improved 
my reaction time because everything happens so fast in a go-kart," he said.  
"I want to get my endurance built up a bit more, but now I know that I can 
physically drive the car better, that's one less thing that I have to worry 
about.  I can just concentrate on driving the line properly and driving the 
car to the best of my ability."

family fan

Franchitti's father, George, attends as many of his sons' races as possible.  
A former racer, he was the engineer and transport driver for Marino and his 
brother Dario when they raced go-karts.  With Marino often competing in 
Europe and Dario in the American CART Series, George logs a lot of miles.  He 
says the biggest challenge is "keeping track of everyone - and my golf 
clubs!"  The best part?  "Watching them winning.  I'm proud of the two of 
them.  They're racing in different categories, no doubt, but they are the 
best at whatever they do."

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Sylvia Proudfoot
spur07@cs.com
403 287 3945