Dario Franchitti has not raced in anger for half a decade, yet nobody bats an eyelid when the call comes to jump into a GT3 car halfway around the world. The three time IndyCar champion and four time Indy 500 winner is back on a start line, partnering World Touring Car ace Rob Huff in a Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo for the Michelin 24 Hours of Dubai on January 17 18. The entry comes from R-Motorsport, the squad that has been steadily rebuilding its GT programme after a rocky few years, and it lands Franchitti straight into a stacked field at the Autodrom.
The pairing makes immediate sense. Franchitti brings endurance nous and a calm hand in traffic, forged across Le Mans Hypercars, IMSA prototypes and his glory days in open wheels. Huff delivers the outright pace, fresh off a WTCR title and still sharp enough to qualify factory BMWs on the nose. Between them they cover the full 24 hour distance without blinking, with R-Motorsport rounding out the lineup from its deep bench of pros. Mercedes power means a front running package when the strategy clicks, and Dubai’s flat out layout plays to the AMG’s strengths in sector one.
Franchitti’s return feels like a gentle re entry rather than a full comeback tour. The Scot stepped away from full time racing after a 2020 stint in Formula E with Nissan, then dipped into GT3 support roles and endurance cameos before life pulled him elsewhere. A one off like this scratches the itch without the grind of a season, letting him test the waters on a circuit he knows from earlier runs. At 52 he is no kid, but the evidence from his Andretti runs and Ganassi pomp says the talent does not fade when you have driven winners at Indy three times.
R-Motorsport needs the win more. The Swiss based team has had its share of headaches, from factory splits to programme reboots, but the Mercedes package has delivered class podiums in recent IMSA and European GT action. Dubai offers a clean shot at overall glory early in the year, the kind of result that sets a tone and draws in the right attention. Huff knows the car inside out from prior stints, while Franchitti’s name alone moves the needle with fans who remember his CART duels with Ganassi and Dixon.
Expect the Mercedes to show up in qualifying trim, likely top five in Pro class if the BoP behaves. The real test comes overnight, when traffic thickens and the desert heat tests the drivetrain. Franchitti and Huff have done enough laps together in sims and briefings to know each other’s style, and that counts double when the stint clock ticks past four hours. Win or not, this is the kind of comeback that reminds everyone why Franchitti belongs on track, not in the commentary booth. Dubai might just be the spark that lights another chapter.
