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CART/Formula One: New Brittish Motor Racing Facility Attract Investment from Forsythe, Indeck

6 October 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Leading US motor sports and energy industry entrepreneur, Gerald Forsythe, today announced a further expansion into European motorsport, with the acquisition of a strategic stake in Rockingham Motor Speedway Limited, the first all-new motor racing venue to be constructed in the UK since 1907.

The shareholders and management of Rockingham Motor Speedway, under construction at Corby in Northamptonshire, have been in negotiation with Forsythe over the summer and are delighted to welcome the additional expertise provided by Forsythe's Indeck Group of companies. The involvement will mark both financial investment and the input of additional expertise provided by Forsythe Racing and the Indeck Group of companies.

Gerald Forsythe is the Chairman & CEO of the Indeck Group of Companies. Indeck Power Equipment are among the world's premier privately-held energy companies. The group are industry leaders in the design, construction, and operation of state-of-the-art power facilities and a leading owner and operator of co-generation and independent power plants, including a facility at Enfield, Middlesex, England.

Forsythe is one of the most influential entrepreneurs in world-wide open-wheel racing. He is the co-owner of two CART FedEx Championship racing teams. Player's / Forsythe Racing and the McDonald's Racing Team and is also a director and limited partner of the British American Racing Formula One Team.

The Forsythe company which is making this investment is a British investment vehicle. Indeck Rockingham Speedway Limited is joining corporate and private UK investors in constructing and developing the commercial and motor sporting operations of Rockingham. Peter Davies, Managing Director of Rockingham, is delighted by Forsythe's involvement:

"The Forsythe and Indeck Groups bring a tremendously powerful range of additional skills to our project. Jerry Forsythe now has interests in ChampCar, Formula One and track ownership, as well as his core business in the energy industry. He has a great team of people and a fascinating range of international corporate sponsors."

"When we were first contacted by the Forsythe people, we knew this was the way to go. I would like to pay tribute also to our existing shareholders and partners, who have backed our project, in some cases for many years. All of them have helped us to accommodate this new investment initiative and seen the great opportunities that now open up for all of us. We are dedicated to bringing quality American style oval racing to Europe - and with Jerry Forsythe on our Board, we now have an even greater ability to do precisely that."

The first stage of the Rockingham developed is currently underway and involves a construction spend of 28 million [US$ 45 million]. This will deliver a range of race tracks, including a one and a half mile banked oval and a complex of road courses, the first main grandstand, pits buildings, guest suites and all associated infrastructure.

Since the public launch of Rockingham in February this year, the ground works have been completed and the shape of the complex is clearly emerging from the 300-acre brownfield site, formerly part of a steel works and ironstone quarry.

GERALD FORSYTHE

One of the world's leading motorsport and industrial entrepreneurs.

With a leading role in both the CART FedEx Championship Series and the FIA Formula One World Championship, Gerald Forsythe is one of the most influential entrepreneurs in world-wide open-wheel racing.

Forsythe is the co-owner of two CART FedEx Championship racing teams. Player's / Forsythe Racing fields a two car team in both the FedEx Championship Series and in the junior Atlantic Championship; and the McDonald's Racing Team, which fields a single car in the CART FedEx Championship Series.

Forsythe is also a director and limited partner of the British American Racing Formula One Team. He is also a member of Championship Auto Racing Teams Inc. Board of Directors. Additionally, in partnership with Frank Arciero Sr., Forsythe is involved with racetrack construction and operation, with the creation of Yuba County Motorplex in California.

Forsythe serves as Chairman & CEO of the Indeck Group of Companies. He joined Indeck Power Equipment in 1963 and acquired the company in 1987. Today it ranks among the world's premier privately held energy companies.

The Indeck companies are industry leaders in the design, construction, and operation of state-of-the-art power facilities. They are the World's largest supplier of rental boilers and a leading owner and operator of co-generation and independent power plants, including one such facility at Enfield, Middlesex, England.

Forsythe resides in Inverness, Illinois, with his wife Jean and their four daughters, Michelle, Marsha, Melissa and Monica.

FORSYTHE RACING AND GERALD FORSYTHE - BRIEF BACKGROUND

1983 - Gerald Forsythe fielded his first IndyCar team, for Teo Fabi of Italy, winning four races and pole position at the Indianapolis 500; the team competed throughout the 1984 and 1985 seasons. Forsythe quit racing in 1986 to concentrate on developing the Indeck Energy Group

1993 - Forsythe returned to motor sports, joining forces with Players of Canada and team manager Barry Green, to compete in the Toyota Atlantic race series, with Jacques Villeneuve as driver.

1994 - Team Forsythe Green moved up to the PPG ChampCar World Series with Jacques Villeneuve as driver.

1995 - Player's Forsythe Racing, now based in Indianapolis, took the overall championship title in the PPG Firestone Indy Lights series, with new star driver Greg Moore winning 10 out of the 12 race series.

1996 - Player's Forsythe Racing entered ChampCar once more, running Greg Moore in a sensational debut season, which successful partnership has continued into the present seasons with a string of wins, poles and fastest laps.

1998 - Forsythe Racing wins the Toyota Atlantic Championship with Canadian driver Lee Bentham .

1999 - Forsythe announces investment in a new US race track at Yuba County Motorplex in California.

October 1999 - Forsythe announces acquisition of strategic stake in Britain's new motorsports complex for the new millennium, Rockingham Motor Speedway, now under construction in England's East Midlands Region, due to open in late fall 2000.

KEY FACTS ABOUT ROCKINGHAM MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Rockingham will be the first purpose-built motor racing venue to be constructed in Great Britain since the construction of Brooklands in 1907

Rockingham Motor Speedway is being built on a 300 acre 'brown field' site located to the north of Corby, Northamptonshire in the heart of the East Midlands region of England

The initial cost of construction will be some 28 million

The venue will incorporate a one and one half mile banked oval circuit, a 2.4 mile international standard road circuit and other smaller circuits.

Visitors to Rockingham will be able to see an unprecedented-in-Europe 85% of all the racing action

All the circuits and racing facilities are to be enclosed within a 9 metre high acoustic earth bund. Rockingham is designed to conform to the strictest environmental standards

Richard Petty, perhaps the most famous driver in American motorsport history, will be bringing the Richard Petty Driving Experience to run at Rockingham. Customers, after full training, will be able to take the wheel of 160 mile an hour NASCAR stock cars and lap Rockingham's oval circuit.

The banked oval circuit will be suitable to run any of the American oval racing championships. The three main American series are: the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Winston Cup Championship, the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) FedEx ChampCar Championship Series and the Pep Boys Indy Racing League (IRL) series.

Work commenced on the construction of the race track complex on 25th May 1999.

The facilities will be completed towards the end of 2000

2001 will see the first full year of racing action at Rockingham including a full national calendar of car and motorcycle racing, organised by the British Automobile Racing Club.

Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.