Franchitti: no worries about Andretti

Michael Andretti will run a third car out of Team Green¹s Indianapolis base under the Motorola colors, and his group will act as 'technical partners' with Franchitti, Paul Tracy and their engineers.

"Michael Andretti is another competitor, but it will be a big advantage to have him in the team because we'll be sharing information," said the Scot. "In the short term, Michael is going to benefit because he's coming to a new team to drive a new car and a new engine. He's going to rely on Paul and me to get up to speed.

"But in the long run, it¹s going to benefit Paul and myself. Michael has a lot of experience - he's won 40 races in this series, and that speaks for itself.

"We've always managed in the past to keep things equal between Paul and
myself, and I think that's important," Franchitti added. "There is no number one or number two."

Franchitti is coming off a miserable season that saw him finish 13th in the standings without a race win. His 2001 testing program has been restricted to a single day so far, but he's ready to get back into action.

"It's been a pretty relaxing winter, really," he said. "But we'll be flat out from February 1 until the start of the season. I have eight or nine test days planned, and I'll be doing another week of fitness training in Austria."