CITGO/SAMAX - Mexico preview

The international strength of Milka Duno and Marino Franchitti will pace the
CITGO Racing by SAMAX entry in the 2006 Rolex Sports Car Series, continuing
their partnership in the next series race, set for March 4 in Mexico City.
Duno, of Caracas, Venezuela, and Franchitti, of Bathgate, Scotland, have
driven together in two Rolex 24 At Daytona races. They are looking forward
to a full season as co-drivers of the No. 11 CITGO/SAMAX Pontiac-powered
Riley Mk XI.

 

Duno raced on the 2.5-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in
Mexico City last year. She was impressed with both the circuit and the
enthusiastic, knowledgeable race fans who attended the inaugural series
event.

 

"I'm very happy that this has all come together so well with Marino, CITGO,
SAMAX, Pontiac and Riley. We had a great result at Daytona and I'm really
looking forward to racing with this combination for the 2006 season," she
said. "I raced for the first time last year at Mexico City and I can't tell
you how generous and supportive the Mexican race fans are. They made us feel
very welcome and I'm really looking forward to seeing them and racing for
them again."

 

Franchitti is a rookie on the Mexican track, but he's a quick learner. The
first time he raced a prototype, in 2002, he started from his record Rolex
Series SRPII pole position, set the fastest class race lap and went on to
victory.

 

"To be with Milka for the whole season is amazing; she's a really good
teammate," he said. "From the moment we drove together at Daytona last year,
there was a really good working relationship there and that's continued this
year. It's going to be cool to build on that.

 

"We both like the same thing from the car. Milka's feedback is really
precise and very good, so we're making progress all the time. Whether I'm in
the car or she's in the car, we're moving forward, so we're maximizing what
we get out of the track time."

 

SAMAX Motorsport owner Peter Baron anticipates a smooth run, after opening
the season with an eighth-place finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in
January.

 

"We had a tremendous experience working with the entire CITGO group at the
Daytona race and we're thrilled to continue forward on a year-long effort,"
he said. "It's refreshing to see a company so enthusiastic about their
motorsport program. We're motivated to be working for such a great group,
with a talented driver duo to go after the best result possible."

 

 

CITGO, based in Houston, Texas is a refiner, transporter and marketer of
transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, refined waxes, asphalt and
other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the
national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more
information on CITGO visit HYPERLINK
"BLOCKED::BLOCKED::outbind://68/www.citgo.com"www.citgo.com.

 

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Sylvia Proudfoot
HYPERLINK "mailto:sylvia@spurcom.ca"sylvia@spurcom.ca
403 287 3945