Honda / Michelin Starting Grid at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve

InformationNICK WITTMER WINS THE HONDA / MICHELIN SERIES POLE FOR SATURDAY'S
AT THE GRAND PRIX OF CANADA

Montréal, (June 11, 2004) - First year driver Nick Wittmer posted the
quickest time during Friday's lone qualifying session for Round Two
of the Honda / Michelin Challenge Series to be held Saturday at
Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. The Hudson (QC) driver rode his Honda
Sainte-Rose Civic around the 4.361-km track in 2 minute 15.720
seconds for an average speed of 115.676 km/h. He will share the front
row for Saturday's 13-lap race with his brother Kuno who ran his best
lap in 2:15.872, only 0.162 seconds off.

Nick won the pole despite losing his best lap time due to a
four-wheel off-course penalty. ''The car was perfect,'' said Nick who
will start from the pole for the first time-ever of his racing
career. ''Right off the start, I pushed the car to the limit and got
into the groove. Those Michelin tires stuck to the track nicely and I
did my best out there. I've started from the front row before but
this time it will have a different twist since I'll be up against my
brother. But, I'm here to win races.''

''This is super,'' said Kuno Wittmer. ''One-two for the Honda de Sigi
team in front of the home crowd is just great. Three laps into the
session, my brakes started to fade. For the rest of the session, I
had to pump them often to be able to get a response. The pedal was so
hard at the end that it would not go down. It's a problem the team
will fix for the race otherwise, I'll be in big trouble. We will work
as a team at the start of the race, but if I see a hole, I'm going
for it.''

Third fastest was Normand Boyer of Sainte-Agathe who was clocked at
2:16.272 for an average speed of 115.208 km/h. ''Everything was
working fine until halfway through the session,'' said the Lombardi
Racing Team driver, who ran his quickest time on lap 7 of 11. ''With
so many cars going off-track, there was too much debris in some
corners. It was impossible to improve my times. I saw cars that never
completed a full lap without going off at least once. Anyway, it's
bound to be worse for the race. If we get a clean start with no
door-to-door banging in the first two corners, It's going to be a
very interesting race.

Benoit Theetge of Beauport (QC) finished fourth and will share row
two with Boyer. Steven Laporte of Saint-Sauveur, Normand Boyer's
teammate will start on the next row with rookie Travis Walker of
Mississauga (ON).

Rounding up the top ten are Quebecers Denis Baillargeon of Montreal,
Didier Schraenen of Mont-Saint-Hilaire on row four followed by
Frédérick Lelièvre of Mont-Joli (QC) and rookie Alex Penfold of
Georgetown (ON).

In the morning practice session, Benoit Theetge of Beauport (QC) was
the quickest, lapping the track in 2 minute 16.833 seconds, edging
Kuno Wittmer of Hudson (QC) by 0.192 second. Third quickest in that
session was his brother Nick Wittmer, followed by Steven Laporte and
Didier Schraenen.

The command for the standing start of Round Two of the Honda Michelin
Series, a 13-lap, 30-minute timed race, will be given at 2:25 p.m. on
Saturday.

The Honda / Michelin Challenge Series is a 10-race series held over
nine weekends and is contested in Ontario (Mosport and Shannonville)
and Québec (Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Saint-Eustache and
Mont-Tremblant).

The stock Honda Civic DX Coupes are equipped with Michelin Pilot
Sport Cup tires, and provide a truly low cost form of motor racing.
The series was re-introduced to encourage young drivers to enter the
sport, but it did not deter some veterans from returning to the
series. The single-make Championship Series gives drivers the
opportunity the showcase their talent in identical cars.

The road racing series was originally launched in 1976 with the Honda
Civic Hatchback.  During its 17-year run, the series has attracted
more than 400 racers.  Among the Canadian race drivers who have
competed in this series are Richard Spénard, Tony Morris, Frank
Allers, Marc Dancose and Jacques Villeneuve, brother of the late
Formula 1 driver Gilles Villeneuve.

The series is sanctioned by ASN Canada FIA and sponsored by Honda
Canada Inc., and Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. The Honda Civic
has been the top-selling passenger car in Canada for the past six
years.  The Honda / Michelin Challenge Series reinforces the
fun-to-drive aspects of the Civic and will be further supported by
its reputation for quality, reliability and durability.