James Weaver Tests Homestead

DAYTONA-WINNING DYSON RACING TEAM TESTS AT HOMESTEAD IN PREPARATION FOR SEPT. 24-26 SPORTS CAR EXTRAVAGANZA

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Feb. 18, 1999) - Rob Dyson picked up his Rolex 24 Aat Daytona-winning car from DAYTONA USA, the Ultimate Motorsports Attraction at Daytona International Speedway, and took it directly to the Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex on Wednesday to test for the Sept. 24-26 Sports Car Extravaganza. James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger led all but two laps in Dyson Racing's Riley & Scott Ford to win the Sports Car Extravaganza in 1998, helping Weaver to capture the inaugural USRRC Can-Am championship. The English veteran is now looking forward to racing on Homestead's 2.21-mile road circuit. "We're very pleased with the test," said Weaver. "We tried different aerodynamic setups and three tire constructions. We're surprised how quick the car is coming back. We're only four-tenths slower than what we qualified last year, and that was with much softer tires. We'll be very quick when we come back here in September." A resident of Wiltshire, England, Weaver is currently in his 15th year with Dyson Racing, scoring 13 victories with the team since 1994. He was the 1996 BPR Global GT champion, scoring four victories in the European series. Weaver's first championship came in 1989, when he won the British Touring Car Class B title. He has 64 major victories, both in the U.S. and in international competition. Dyson has been a major force in American sports car racing since he purchased a Porsche 962 in 1985. The Poughkeepsie, N.Y. communications magnate won his first race in the new car, joining Price Cobb at his home track in Lime Rock, Conn. He debuted the Riley & Scott Mark III in competition in 1995, after building a Ferrari-powered prototype for the World Sports Car series. The Sept. 24-26 Sports Car Extravaganza features the USRRC Can-Am and GT classes in a three-hour race. The weekend also includes the SCCA US F2000 National Championship in a pair of season-concluding races, plus additional events to be announced. Tickets are now on sale for the Sports Car Extravaganza and other 1999 events at Homestead, including the March 19-21 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota/Florida Dodge Dealers 400 weekend. Call (305) 230-RACE (7223). For additional information, visit the official Homestead-Miami Speedway web site: www.racemiami.com.