CHAMPCAR/CART: Team Players to match its car against a CF-18!

June 10 event is part of Ville de La Baie’s International Air Show

Montreal, Quebec, May 17, 2000 Team Player’s announced today it will take part in a unique event on June 10 that will see one of its Champ cars matched against a Canadian Air Force CF-18 fighter jet on the Bagotville airport runway.

The showdown between one of the jewels of Canadian aviation and the Player’s Champ car driven by Patrick Carpentier is part of this year’s Ville de La Baie International Air Show and will be run over a distance of approximately 2,000 feet.

The CF-18 Hornet, whose twin engines deliver 32,000 pounds of thrust, attains a maximum ground speed of 180 knots, while the 850-horsepower Player’s Champ car is capable of reaching speeds of 400 km/h depending on track configuration and wing package.

“It isn’t very often that we’ve had to find a set-up to give us speed over such a long straightaway!” said Patrick Carpentier, who expects the matchup, which is bound to be a topic of discussion among experts and fans, to make for a spectacular display of speed. “It must be quite a feeling to see a CF-18 in your rear-view mirror, but I’m going to have to burst from the starting line and the engine is going to have to be putting out full pin at the end of the sprint for us to stay ahead.”

Carpentier’s teammate Alex Tagliani will also be at Bagotville and the two drivers will be available for an autograph session prior to the event. Spectators at the air show will have a rare opportunity to see the Player’s Champ car up close, as well as the team’s transporter which travels all over North America during the racing season.

“Having Patrick and Alex in Bagotville is a sort of homecoming for them given their hectic schedule as competitors in the CART series,” said Colonel Dwight Davies, Commander of 3 Wing Bagotville. “This event will certainly show the courage and composure that race car drivers and jet pilots must possess in order to execute complex tasks requiring razor-sharp precision at high speed using state-of-the art technology to meet every challenge.”

Thus, the stage is set for an event that is sure to make some noise, Saturday, June 10, in Bagotville, to the delight of racing fans, aviation enthusiasts and thrill-seekers everywhere.

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Information François Cartier / Louis Payette (514) 288-8290