CART: Player's Forsythe Team Returns to Ford Power
26 November 1999
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Player's Forsythe Racing announced Monday that drivers Patrick Carpentier and rookie Alexandre Tagliani will be powered by Ford Cosworth engines during the 2000 FedEx Championship Series season. Player's and Ford Cosworth teamed with driver Jacques Villeneuve to win a FedEx Championship Series title in 1995.
The Player's Forsythe team has campaigned with Mercedes-Benz power for the past four FedEx Championship Series seasons, and was an integral contributor to Mercedes' 1997 CART Manufacturer's Championship.
"We are very excited about our package for next season and our renewed association with Ford Cosworth certainly serves notice that we will be a team to be reckoned with in the year 2000 and beyond," said Neil Micklewright, vice president of operations for Player's Forsythe Racing.
"We know from experience that their race engineers are among the best in the business and they share our vision for the future, which includes many more trips to the Winner's Circle and a shot at the PPG Cup."
The new Ford Cosworth XF engine, which will debut in the 2000 FedEx Championship Series season, is two inches shorter and 18 percent lighter than the 1999 version and revs at a range approaching 16,000 revolutions per minute.
"The decrease in size and weight will give us more flexibility in our setups," said Carpentier. "I heard Christian [Fittipaldi] and Roberto [Moreno] rave about the new engine when they tested it last August, and I simply can't wait to get in the car and see it for myself."
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