Reigning IndyCar champion, Scott Dixon, has already won two of North America’s greatest races: the Indianapolis 500 in 2008 and 24 Hours of Daytona in 2006. Now the 28-year-old New Zealander is targeting victory in the annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
On Saturday 21 March, Dixon joins fellow drivers Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud in the new no.66 XM Radio de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a contesting this year’s running of the annual day-night classic in Florida.
Although the IndyCar series doesn’t visit Sebring, the circuit must have some good memories for you? After all it was following an impressive test at Sebring in 1999 that you were rewarded with your first Indy Lights drive and the rest, as they say, is history.
Scott Dixon: “For me that was definitely a life-changer. My test there opened the door to Indy Lights and thus, thereafter, to what I’ve achieved in both Champ Cars and IndyCars. So, yes, Sebring is pretty special to me.”
The defence of your IndyCar crown with Target Chip Ganassi is your main commitment in 2009, so what attracts you to a one-off sportscar drive for de Ferran Motorsports?
Scott Dixon: “I love longer races; they’re a real team effort and a lot of fun. As the pressure is shared out across three drivers and the team over a long distance, it’s quite a relaxing way to race when compared to the shorter sprint races I’m used to. On top of that, there are lots of cars on the track so you are continually passing people, especially when you are in a prototype. The technology also is now a big plus – top cars like the Acura are really advanced machines.”
Mileage in the car must be a good way to prepare for the forthcoming Indy Car season, too?
Scott Dixon: “Apart from a short IndyCar test in December, I would have been out of a car for more than four months over the winter so, yes, it’s fantastic to get the seat time at Daytona and Sebring as well as doing all the testing. More so as the Acura is such a cool car.”
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