CART Appoints Octagon Worldwide Strategic Partner

LONG BEACH, Calif., April 15 Officials from Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. and Octagon confirmed today that they have established a worldwide strategic partnership to service CART's growing international needs.

The appointment will see Octagon provide a wide range of services from television distribution and production, sponsorship and media sales, marketing and public relations, event staging and promotion, gaming and the creation of new events. In addition, Octagon will be utilizing its sister agencies within the Interpublic Group to assist in the delivery of other specialist services.

Octagon has started work with CART's management team in suburban Detroit to develop a unified approach across all the services to ensure they can be effectively delivered in the international markets. Some work will also be undertaken by Octagon and its sister Interpublic companies within North America. Octagon Television has already secured several television rights and distribution contracts to support the CART FedEx Championship Series for the 2002 season which started on March 10 with the Tecate Telmex Monterrey Grand Prix.

Newly appointed CART President and CEO Christopher R. Pook and his management board, made the appointment following a review of the series' progress since its inception in 1979.

``Since taking on this new role, I, and the board, recognized the need to build the strength of CART internationally,'' said Pook. ``Together with Octagon's global network and the expertise of its sister companies within Interpublic we are well-placed to develop CART as the premier racing series.''

``Octagon has already established a diverse portfolio of motorsports through its marketing-led approach which delivers a successful product for all those watching and participating,'' added Les Delano, group chief executive of Octagon. ``CART is clearly a unique product with huge potential and one that we know we can develop for the benefit of the fans, TV audiences, teams and sponsors.''

Tim Moufarrige, President of Property Representation and Sales at Octagon, will be leading the team at Octagon who will be responsible for the overall delivery of the services.

Octagon is the global marketing-led sports and event marketing company. It offers worldwide expertise across all eight major sports and event marketing disciplines: athlete representation, event management, consultancy, property representation and sales, TV rights sales and distribution, TV production and archive, new media and licensing and merchandising.

Octagon is part of The Interpublic Group , the world's largest advertising and marketing communications group. The Interpublic Group is the only marketing communications and services group with a global sports marketing capability. Octagon employs over 1500 people with 74 offices in 23 countries on all major continents. For further information please visit: http://www.octagon.com /

Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. owns, operates and markets the CART FedEx Championship Series. Former series champions Michael Andretti and Jimmy Vasser are among the stars who will battle for the 2002 FedEx Championship Series title on ovals, temporary street circuits and permanent road courses. CART Champ Cars are thoroughbred racing machines that travel at speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour, showcasing the technical expertise of manufacturers such as American Honda, Ford Motor Company, Toyota, Lola Cars, Reynard Motorsport and Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC. The 20-race 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series will be broadcast by new television partners, CBS, FOX and SPEED Channel. CART also owns and operates its top development series, the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship. Learn more about CART's open-wheel racing series at http://www.cart.com /