RuSPORT talks with Franchitti stall

The Scot, who was unable to race in his final contracted IndyCar event at Chicagoland last weekend after suffering concussion in a Goodwood Revival accident, was expected to take over RuSPORT's No. 10 car, which has lain dormant since Cristiano da Matta's accident in early August at Elkhart Lake.

That would have put Franchitti on the Champ Car grid at Road America, Surfers Paradise, and Mexico City - the final three rounds of the Champ Car season.

However, autosport.com has learned that this will not now be the case, despite Franchitti's current contract with Andretti Green Racing ending with IRL's last race of 2006.

There were rumours that he was demanding too much money or that he was trying to not only make a deal for the three remaining races of this year's calendar but also simultaneously guarantee a seat at RuSPORT next year.

RuSPORT team president Jeremy Dale would not be drawn on the circumstances of the collapse of the talks. He said: "It's unfortunate, but we have in the mean time opened other avenues for filling that seat for [the final two rounds] Surfers Paradise and Mexico City."

Asked if there might still be a chance that Franchitti would race for RuSPORT in Australia and Mexico, he said: "Never say never... but I'm 99.9 per cent certain that won't be the case."

Dale confirmed that RuSPORT had got clearance from the Champ Car World Series as well as their rival teams to give Franchitti a day of testing to reacquaint himself with a chassis/engine combination he last raced in 2002.

Given that RuSPORT's other driver Justin Wilson is almost mathematically out of the reckoning for the Champ Car title, and therefore will not likely benefit from the support of an experienced driver as his teammate, the team could feel free to experiment with a rookie for Surfers Paradise and Mexico City.

This could be especially significant as the Champ Car Atlantic Series ends at Road America next week.

"That would be a logical conclusion to reach," was all Dale would admit.