Marino Franchitti to drive for PR1

Franchitti and Dobson finalize driver lineup for round five of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n season. R1/Mathiasen Motorsports has announced that longtime sports car racing fan favorite, Marino Franchitti will join the team for the Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport this weekend. Partnering with PR1/Mathiasen team driver, Ken Dobson, of Sonoma, CA, Franchitti will be getting his first taste of an LMPC machine in the #52 Quest Software/ Aviation Gin Oreca FLM09 this Friday during a two hour test session at the famed Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

"I'm looking forward to working with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports" said Marino, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, "I've not had the chance to drive an LMPC car before, but all my friends that have driven them have enjoyed the experience. They speak about the torque of the engine and the consistency of the Michelin tires, the latter being no surprise to me, so I'm excited to join the team, work with Ken and feel the car for myself this weekend. The small amount of experience I have of spec racing has taught me that when everyone has the same equipment, finding an advantage is very difficult and in order to give yourself and the team the chance to compete for the victory, you have to get every little detail spot on, and hopefully we can achieve that".

Dobson is expecting to carry the team's recent momentum into Mosport.

"It'll be great having an accomplished driver on the team like Marino that knows Mosport really well," Dobson said. "I've had a lot of great runs there in touring and GT cars myself, and I was very happy with my pace a few weeks ago at Lime Rock Park, so we're looking forward to getting back to the track this weekend and fighting to get the #52 to the top of the time sheets."

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Team Principal, Bobby Oergel, will be looking to Marino and Dobson to help the team go from strength to strength this weekend.

"Having Marino and Dobson in the car this weekend gives us a lot of confidence," Oergel said. "We've had a tremendous path of growth with Butch Leitzinger in the car last year and the first few rounds this season; really bringing us to a whole new level. Butch helped us get our first win last year, and was instrumental in improving our performance throughout the program. Looking to the immediate future, it will be critical that we help get Marino up to speed with our crew and engineering staff as fast as possible to capitalize on everything that we've been building on in the last few years. Having followed his career closely for several years, I know that we'll have more than a fighting chance this weekend."