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©2001 SpeedCenter Publishing DETROIT and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada (August 31, 2001) - Molson and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) have come to an agreement to renew the Molson Indy Vancouver race for three years beginning 2002. As a result of the three-year agreement, the Molson Indy Vancouver intends to remain at its current downtown location at Concord Pacific Place through 2004. The announcement was made by Robert Singleton, Vice President and General Manager, Molstar Sports and Entertainment and Joseph F. Heitzler, CART Chairman and CEO. The decision on the British Columbia event means that the CART FedEx Championship Series will visit three Canadian cities - Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal - starting next year. Earlier this year, Molson announced a five-year agreement to 2006, for a Molson Indy race event set to take place in Montreal on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. The agreement for Molson Indy in Toronto, which has been extended as well, runs through 2004. "Molson is happy not only to continue, but to grow our relationship with CART," said Singleton. "This is terrific news for race fans in Vancouver. Three CART races in Canada is very exciting for Molson." In 11 years of racing on the streets, the annual visit to Vancouver has become a favorite among fans and members of the CART Community. "You really have to give a large amount of credit to the race fans in the Vancouver area for their enormous support to keep the race in the city through letters, e-mails and phone calls," said Heitzler. "In addition, Molstar is an outstanding partner for CART in promoting events and the combined efforts of the two clearly showed us it was extremely beneficial to return to Vancouver." The agreement guarantees that CART racing will continue in Vancouver but did not specify a date on the 2002 CART schedule. Final race dates, will be announced later this year, upon confirmation of the FedEx Championship Series 2002 racing schedule. This year at Molson Indy Vancouver, August 31 - September 2, 2001, Canadian racing superstars Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani, will join an international field of world-class drivers, including Michael Andretti, Christian Fittipaldi, Dario Franchitti, and Alex Zanardi, when the drivers and teams of the FedEx Championship Series hit the streets of Concord Pacific Place. The Molson Indy Vancouver has experienced 11 great years of racing in the city, with over 1,777,000 in total attendance from 1990 - 2000. The Molson Indy generates over $26 million annually in economic benefit for the city of Vancouver. Molson (TSE: MOL.A) is Canada's pre-eminent brewer with more than $2 billion in annual sales. Founded in 1786, Molson is North America's oldest beer brand and a global brand name with products that include Molson Canadian, Molson Export, Molson Dry, Rickard's and the Brazilian beer brand Bavaria. Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. (NYSE: MPH) owns, operates and markets the FedEx Championship Series. The series visits seven countries and four continents during the season and climaxes with the season-ending Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota on Sunday, November 4 at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Thanks to a partnership among Marlboro, Toyota, CART and California Speedway, the winner of the season finale will collect $1 million, one of the largest paydays in all of motorsports. An additional $1 million, as well as the prestigious Vanderbilt Cup, will be awarded to the driver who wins the FedEx Championship Series title. Champions Michael Andretti, Gil de Ferran, Alex Zanardi and Jimmy Vasser are among the drivers who battle for the FedEx Championship Series title on oval circuits as well as temporary and permanent road courses. CART also owns and operates its top two development series, the Dayton Indy Lights Championship and the Toyota Atlantic Championship. Learn more about CART's open-wheel racing series at www.cart.com.
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