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CART: New Canadian Race Added to FedEx Championship Schedule in 2002

20 January 2001

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
FONTANA, CALIFORNIA- The city of Montreal can add a spectacular event to their summer calendar in 2002. 'Gentlemen Start Your Engines' will be heard in August 2002, as the drivers and teams of the FedEx Championship Series take to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on le Notre-Dame, Montreal, Quebec for the Molson Indy.

At a media conference today at the California Speedway in Fontana, California, Bob Singleton, General Manager, Molstar Sports and Entertainment, along with Normand Legault, President, Grand Prix F1 du Canada, Joseph Heitzler, CEO and President of CART and Canadian FedEx Championship Series drivers Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani of Team Players, announced the signing of a letter of agreement for five years to 2006.

"Molstar will continue to be the rights holder of CART racing in Canada. We are very excited to be bringing the Molson Indy to Montreal in 2002," said Bob Singleton, General Manager Molstar Sports and Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Molson Canada. "Our commitment in Montreal will be the same as it has been in Toronto and Vancouver, which is to be one of the very best events on the CART circuit."

"Race fans in Quebec and all of Canada will be delighted to see a round of the exciting FedEx Championship Series on the demanding Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve," said Normand Legault, President, Grand Prix F1 du Canada. "No doubt, Montreal with its unique cachet in North America, will quickly become a favourite stop on the CART circuit for participants, as well as for race fans in Montreal and all over the world."

"This is a great opportunity for CART to add a well diversified and cosmopolitan city like Montreal to a strong domestic and international schedule of events already in place," stated CART President and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Heitzler. "We are confident with Molson's success in promoting CART races and the loyalty of Canadian race fans throughout the country, that we will enjoy another successful event for years to come."

The Molson Indy in Montreal will continue 16 years of CART racing in Canada. The Toronto and Vancouver events are two of the most popular annual spectator events in the country. Combined attendance for the two races in 2000 reached an all-time record of 329,000.

Canadian racing superstars, Patrick Carpentier, Alex Tagliani and Paul Tracy will compete against an international field of world-class drivers, including Michael Andretti, Christian Fittipaldi, Roberto Moreno and Helio Castroneves in open-wheel cars, whose engines have in excess of 800 horsepower at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on le Notre-Dame, Montreal, Quebec in August 2002.

Text Provided By CART

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