Contact: Pamela Morey Tel/Fax: 408-335-1105

MIKE CONTE JOINS WORLD SPEED MOTORSPORTS FOR LAGUNA SECA FINALE

(for immediate release--August 25, 1997) -- Mike Conte, of Seattle, Wash., who is currently third in the Star Mazda Pro Series championship in a World Speed Motorsports entry, will compete in his first career KOOL Toyota Atlantic race at Laguna Seca on September 6, 1997. Conte started the 1997 season with an impressive fifth place finish (14th overall) in GTS-3 for Alex Job Racing in a Porsche 911 RSR at the Rolex 24 of Daytona. He team= ed with Atlantic standout Anthony Lazzaro at that event and the 12 hours at that event and the 12 hours of Sebring in Professional SportsCar.

Conte then resumed his second full season in the Mazda series and comes off a pole position and win at Sears Point International Raceway earlier this month. Conte is the former design lead for Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office. He was introduced to motorsports in 1993, when he attended a Skip Barber class where Chuck West was one of his instructors.

He finished seventh (1994) and third (1995) in the Skip Barber Western Series Formula Ford championships before moving up to the Star Formula Mazda Series in 1996. Under West's tutelage, Conte narrowly missed the Star Mazda championship last year, finishing two points out of first place in his rookie season.

Conte will campaign the Internet Explorer Ralt RT-40 under the World Speed Motorsports banner. The team will also run series regular Mark Tague and has added Bill Tichenor, who joined the who joined the team at Elkhart Lake.

CONTE BIO NOTES

Full Name: Michael Vincent Conte Married: Anne Birthdate: April 14, 1969 Two Sons:Nicholas (4), Christopher (2) Birthplace: Yonkers, NY Residence: Seattle, WA

Education:      NYU & Univ. of Chicago
Weight:         150
Height:         5'7"

BS in Management and Computer Information Systems from NYU....studies philosophy at Univ. of Chicago...former design lead for Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office...Public Relations lead for Windows 95 and Internet Explorer...hobbies include squash and mountain biking...has worked for race teams as a data acquisition engineer.

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