Lynx - Montreal Pre-Race

M2

Fast Facts                  Lynx Racing Drivers David Rutledge and Michael
                                      Valiante in the Toyota Atlantic
support race at
                                      the Air Canada Grand Prix, June 9

- Lynx Racing's two Canadian drivers, David Rutledge and Michael Valiante
(both from Vancouver) are teaming up to try and repeat Rutledge's win from
the pole in last year's Toyota Atlantic support race at the Air Canada
Grand Prix.
- The duo have raced as teammates just once so far this year, at the
Atlantic series season-opening Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, where
Rutledge won from the pole and Valiante finished fourth in his first-ever
Atlantic race.
- Lynx has a history of victory in Montreal - the team won this race in
1994 with Richie Hearn, and again in 1996 with Patrick Carpentier and again
in 2000 with David Rutledge.  Alex Barron finished second in 1997, and
Buddy Rice finished third in 1998 and 1999.
- Lynx is the most unique and successful driver development program in open
wheel racing today.  Owned by two women and now in its 11th year, Lynx
seeks out young drivers with championship potential and provided them with
the funding, equipment and training to make the jump to the top levels of
the sport.
_____________________

        Lynx Racing drivers David Rutledge and Michael Valiante, both
Canadians from Vancouver, B.C., will team up for next weekend's Air Canada
Grand Prix of Montreal in an effort to repeat - and expand on -  Rutledge's
victory in this event last year.
        Rutledge, 22, scored the first win of his Atlantic career - from
the pole - at Montreal last year, and opened his 2001 championship campaign
with another victory - again from the pole - in the season-opener at the
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.  Valiante, an international karting
champion who attracted the attention of Lynx Racing with his sparkling
drives in the Barber Dodge Pro Series, finished fourth in his first-ever
Atlantic race, through the streets of Long Beach.
        "Winning Montreal last year was a pivotal point in my career
because although I'd run near the front in Atlantic before, this was the
first real proof that I could win at this level," says Rutledge, who drives
the turquoise with yellow trim #19 Lynx Racing Swift 008.a.  "It gave the
team more confidence in me, and gave me more confidence in myself.  With
two Canadian drivers on the team, all of Canada will be looking over our
shoulders, so the pressure to perform is very high.  But Michael and I work
together very well which will enhance the overall performance of the team. 
This is my year to show teams in CART and F1 that I'm ready to move up, and
following up my victory from the pole in the first race of the season at
Long Beach with a repeat win here would be a big step in the right
direction."   
        Valiante, 21, is an international karting champion and moved up the
Barber Dodge Pro Series with the help of two Skip Barber scholarships he
won in competition against some of the fastest young drivers in the world. 
With sponsorship from Italian Motors and Copart Auto Auctions, he will
compete in six rounds of the 2001 CART Toyota Atlantic series, including
all four Canadian races.  He finished fourth in his first-ever Atlantic
race, through the streets of Long Beach, and will make his second start at
Montreal.
        "It's just awesome for me to have a chance to race in front of the
F1 teams because that's my ultimate goal," says Valiante.  "This is the
biggest race in Canada, I've never raced here before and this is only my
second Atlantic race, so it feels a bit like I'm standing at the center of
the stage under a very bright spotlight.  But Lynx is one of the best teams
in the Atlantic series and has either won or finished on the podium many
times here, and with David and me working together I feel comfortable about
my ability to have a good race."
Rutledge drives the #19 (turquoise with yellow trim)  Lynx Racing Swift
008.a while Valiante competes in the #95 (black with yellow trim) Lynx
Racing / Italian Motors / Copart Auto Auctions Swift 008.a.
        Lynx Racing has won this event with another Canadian, Patrick
Carpentier - now driving for Player's/Forsythe in the CART FedEx
Championship - in 1996.  It was an all-Lynx front row with Carpentier's
teammate Jeret Schroeder (who made his third Indy 500 start on Labor Day)
qualified second, and the duo finished 1 - 2.  The team's record at
Montreal also includes a win with Richie Hearn in 1994, a 2 - 3 finish with
Lynx teammates Alex Barron and Memo Gidley in 1997 and third-place finishes
with Buddy Rice in 1998 and 1999.  Gidley and Barron are CART's new
'super-sub' duo, while Rice has signed to drive with Jaguar F1 manager
Bobby Rahal's CART team in 2002.
        The 27-lap Atlantic race around the 2.746-mile Circuit Gilles
Villeneuve is scheduled to start at 2:30 pm on Saturday, June 9.  The race
will be televised live on RDS.
        2001 marks the 11th anniversary of Lynx Racing, one of the most
unique organizations in auto racing today.  Created and owned by two women,
Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty, Lynx is both a championship-winning racing team
and a uniquely successful driver development program that focuses on a
driver's mental, psychological and spiritual growth in addition to their
on-track skills. 
          The Lynx mission is to seek out young drivers with the desire and
potential to become champions at the highest levels of the sport and
provide them with the funding, equipment and training to take the last step
toward realizing that potential, a process the team calls 'Destiny by
Design.'  Lynx alumni include CART FedEx drivers Patrick Carpentier, Alex
Barron and Memo Gidley.  
        In addition to Rutledge and Valiante, the Lynx stable of drivers
also includes Sara Senske, 21, of Kennewick, Washington.  Senske, now in
her fifth year as a Lynx driver, is one of the fastest-rising female
drivers in open-wheel racing and drives the #19 Lynx Racing Reynard 98E in
the Barber Dodge Pro Series.  She will compete in the BDPS support race at
the Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit next weekend.
_______________________

For further information on Lynx Racing and its drivers, please contact the
team's public relations manager, Peter Frey, at (818) 906-6997.  The team
also has a web site at www.LynxRacing.com.  For more information about the
CART Toyota Atlantic series, visit www.ToyotaAtlantic.com, and the Barber
Dodge Pro Series web site is located at www.BarberDodge.com


 
June 5, 2001