Lynx - Trois Rivieres Qualifying

GOING FOR FOUR AT TROIS RIVIERES

Part 2 / Qualifying - It's An All-Lynx Second Row.... The Race Will Be The
Canadians vs. The South Americans

        Lynx Racing drivers David Rutledge and Michael Valiante, both of
Vancouver, B.C., have qualified third and fourth for tomorrow's running of
the Grand Prix du Trois Rivieres.  On the pole is Rutledge's principal
competitor for the 2001 Atlantic championship, Hoover Orsi, and alongside
him on the front row is Martin Basso, the driver with whom Valiante
collided in Toronto… all the makings of a truly interesting first lap.
        "It's been kind of a slippery day for me," says Rutledge, who
drives the #19 Lynx Racing Swift 008.a.  "I ticked the tire wall with the
rear wing in the morning, and had to come in for the team to replace it. 
Then this afternoon, I carried too much speed into turn five and put the
nose into the tire wall.  I'm fine and the car will be easily repaired for
tomorrow, but it has limited my time here at this very difficult track. 
And, in Atlantic, your position in the pits is assigned by how you did in
the last race, so because of our 12th-place finish in Chicago, we're
halfway back in the pits and every time I go out I'm in the middle of a
pack of slower cars.  All those things aside, we have a good car and we
always knew that during the season we'd have to win one from in the field
instead of the pole, and this looks like the one."
        Rutledge has been on the pole for and won every Canadian race so
far (Montreal and Toronto), and is currently a close second to Orsi in the
Atlantic championship battle.  In this race last year, he was running third
when a brake problem forced him into a runoff area, and he wound up
finishing 13th.
        Valiante, in his first-ever visit to the Trois Rivieres circuit,
impressed those familiar with the tricky track by qualifying his #95 Lynx
Racing / Italian Motors /Newlife Development / Copart Auto Auctions Swift
008.a. in fourth.
        "The track was a lot slipperier than this morning, which took me by
surprise just a little, but one I got used to it, it was actually kind of
fun," says Valiante.  "You usually can't get away with sliding these cars
too much, but you have to here and it feels like a kart race in some ways. 
It's going to be an all-Canadian second row versus an all South American
front row, and one of those guys is the one who took me out in Toronto, so
we'll have to be careful.  But David and I work well together, and there's
a long straight that's good for drafting and several braking zones that are
good for passing, so I think we have a good chance in the race tomorrow."
        Lynx Racing's history at this track includes a pair of victories
from the pole in 1996 with Patrick Carpentier, now driving for
Player's/Forsythe in CART.  In 1998, Memo Gidley, now driving for Target
Chip Ganassi, started and finished fourth.  And in 1999, Buddy Rice, now
under contract to Team Rahal, was leading the race when he slid wide in a
turn and contacted the barrier
        The 45 lap / 68.43 mile Atlantic race scheduled to take the green
flag at 1:40 pm Sunday, August 5.  ESPN2 and ESPN International will
broadcast Sunday's Round 8 race from Trois-Rivieres on Saturday, August 11,
at 5:00 p.m. ET, while Atlantic fans in Canada can watch the race on CTV
SportsNet on Tuesday, August 14, at 7:00 p.m. in the EAST, ONTARIO and WEST
time zones, and at 8:00 p.m. in the PACIFIC zone.  CTV repeat dates are:
EAST, Thursday, August 16, 1:30 p.m., PACIFIC, Friday, August 17, 3:00
p.m., WEST, Thursday, August 16, 3:00 p.m., and ONTARIO, no repeat date. 
ESPN2 will replay the race on Tuesday, August 14, at 4:00 a.m. EST.
_______________________

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
_______________________

David Rutledge has a personal sponsorship from The Keg Steakhouse & Bar, a
group of 82 casual, contemporary steakhouses spanning from Victoria across
to Halifax in Canada, and into the United States in Washington, Oregon and
Texas. Further information can be found at www.kegsteakhouse.com.
 
August 4, 2001