Champions Choice: Three-time Indy 500 Winner
Dario Franchitti builds second Dura Garage

Champion race car driver and motorsport commentator Dario Franchitti MBE isn’t one to do something once; he won the Indianapolis 500 on three separate occasions, and the IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship four times. Today, he is opening the doors to his second Dura garage for his own private car collection.

Franchitti’s latest Dura install is a beautifully design, full of small details that he has come to expect of more than 30 years racing. “People in racing tend to be very detail orientated, almost OCD in a lot of ways.” commented Franchitti. “You learn very early on that the difference between being ‘OK’ and winning are the small details, lots and lots of small details – and it was the exact same when I was working with Dura.”

Compromising of nine separate pieces of Dura furniture, the design incorporates six low-level and three high-level cabinets. Fully designed, manufactured and installed by Dura, the end result is a sleek, clean design that appears to be a singular unit within the space. The new install offers secure storage for car covers, sports equipment and tools, with integrated power and more than 5meters of worktop space.

Franchitti isn’t the only champion to choose Dura. Two-time British Touring Car Champion Jason Plato, Aston Martin Racing Team driver and three-time Le Mans winner Darren Turner and four-time World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty are just some of the most recognisable names in motorsport to personally choose Dura, the ultimate workshop and garage furniture.

Born in Scotland in 1973, Franchitti first started racing karts age 10, enjoying early success before graduating to car racing when he turned 17. In 1991, he won the Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship and, two years later, the Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship. He continued racing throughout the 1990s, including for AMG-Mercedes in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM Championship) and the related International Touring Car Championship.

It is the Indy 500 and IndyCar Series that Franchitti is best known. The highest class of regional North American open-wheel racing in the United States, Franchitti has competed in 265 races, winning 31 and finishing on the podium 92 times.

The Indy-500 is considered one of the Triple Crown events of Motorsport, along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix. First raced in 1911, it is a gruelling 200-lap, 500-mile race around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the highest-capacity sports venue in the world known as “The Brickyard”, as it was originally paved in bricks. Franchitti lifted the Borg-Warner Trophy on three separate occasions, in 2007, 2010 and 2012.

Today, Franchitti is a respected motorsport commentator and development driver, following his retirement from professional racing after his crash in the 2013 Shell-Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston. Most recently, he has been heavily involved with dynamic development of the new Gordon Murray T.50, with his latest Dura install sharing the same colour finish as Franchitti’s own example.

“I’m used to workshops looking a certain way, everything has got to have its place,” said Franchitti. “This attention to detail has been drilled into me for more than 30 years, since I was 17 and first turned up at Paul Stewart Racing, so when it came to building a garage, you go straight to Dura.

“I told them what I would like and they provide the same levels of detail that I’ve come to expect from years of racing. Little things like colour coding the door handles to increase the minimalist design all add up.

“I had all these ideas and Dura always responded ‘Yes, we can do that’. It’s this attention to detail, the beautiful bespoke elements and outstanding quality that make Dura the only choice.”

Like all Dura Garages and Dura Workshops, Dario Franchitti’s design was bespoke to his personal requirements. To give your garage, workshop or business the same level of detail and quality, contact Dura directly to discover the difference we can make to your space.