Rand Racing Phoenix victory

Phoenix International Raceway
race, April 20, 2002

five for five

Rand Racing collected its fifth straight SRPII class win in the Rolex Sports 
Car Series, this time in the new No. 7 Nissan Lola driven by Marino 
Franchitti and Niclas Jönsson.  Their sister car, the No. 8 Rand Lola, has 
four victories in five starts.

Franchitti started the No. 7 car from the SRPII class pole position for 
Saturday's race on the 1.51-mile Phoenix International Raceway road course.  
His teammate, Terry Borcheller, started second in class in the No. 8 car.  
Borcheller took the class lead from Franchitti on the first lap, but was 
forced to retire with an engine failure after seven minutes of the two-hour 
12-minute race, returning the lead to Franchitti.  Niclas Jönsson took the 
wheel after 1h25 and held the class lead to the checkered flag, finishing 
fourth overall.  Ralf Kelleners, Borcheller's co-driver, and Bill Rand, 
co-driver with Jönsson and Franchitti, did not drive.

Marino Franchitti    "We got pole position, fastest lap and won the race, how 
could it be any better?  Rand/Risi Racing did a great job, it was a great 
team effort.  I think Nic and I gained a lot of useful experience between the 
two of us.  It was a different experience for me - I've never been in a car 
where you run close and the air starts to go from under the car.  But I had a 
lot of fun - I'd do it again tomorrow, if I could."

Niclas Jönsson    "It's wonderful to be able to win the first race out with 
Rand/Risi Racing.  The crew have done such a great job all week and have been 
so supportive; they're an outstanding crew.  And Marino did a great job for 
his first time in a prototype.  I think it's going to be a great season.  
It's also fun to win my first race since I came to the United States (in 
1995); hopefully there will be many to come."

Bill Rand    "It was a bittersweet moment for me.  The guys did a great job 
preparing both cars, but it's one of those things that happens in racing - 
you lose an engine or lose a gearbox.  But I can't be happier for Marino and 
Nic."

Terry Borcheller    "The car was really good and I was excited to be able to 
race with Marino.  It was fun just having a car to race with!  It was going 
to be a fun race, but the engine went from perfect to smoke.  No misfires, no 
over-revs, just perfect to nothing."

Ralf Kelleners    "Whenever we come to the track, the car is prepared 
perfectly and we just try to make it fit the track.  Every race we've gone 
to, we achieved a very good setup and a very good race strategy and we had 
the same strategy here.  We were going to have a good fight with the other 
car, but what happens, happens.  It's racing, things like that happen."

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Sylvia Proudfoot
spur07@cs.com
403 287 3945