Sao Paulo, Brazil - The Brahma Brewing Corporation (Companhia Cervejaria Brahma) has joined the Patrick Racing and will campaign the 1997 PPG Indy Car World Series season as the Brahma Sports Team.

The Brahma Sports Team will be a two car effort with drivers Raul Boesel and Scott Pruett piloting Lola chassis with Ford/Cosworth engines and Firestone tires. Terms of the contract include an agreement that allows for additional years based on the performance of the two cars in 1997.

Televised in nearly 200 countries, IndyCar became an excellent marketing tool for Brahma in its inaugural season in 1996. In addition the "No. 1 Fans" program has reached more than 100,000 people in Brazil and has provided 60 consumers with trips to the United States to see the Brahma Sports Team work on race weekends.

The decision to join Patrick Racing, the third most successful team in IndyCar history, was made because of the strong technical support it receives from its partners like Firestone and Ford/Cosworth. The team is also well known for its development and testing programs which include an investment in a state-of-the-art wind tunnel to be established in Indianapolis in 1997.

Joining Patrick at the meetings with Brahma and Fischer, Justus Comunicacao Total were Ford representative Don Hayward and Bernard Ferguson from Cosworth. The Brahma Sports Team will serve as the test team for Firestone tires and will have factory support from Lola.

The new Brahma Sports Team's strength is based on the personnel at Patrick Racing. Patrick, a founder of CART and the 'father' of Indy Lights, has 36 Indy car victories, the third most of any team in IndyCar racing, and 11% of the races he has entered since his first season in 1970. The team is led by General Manager Jim McGee, who as a general manager/team manager/chief mechanic, has 81 victories, four Indy 500 titles and nine Indy car championships. McGee, the second winningest manager/ chief mechanic in Indy car history, is supported by Team Manager Steve Newey who is in charge of the team's operations and oversees the engineering program. Newey brings a wealth of knowledge and vast experience to the Brahma Sports Team.

The goals for the Brahma Sports Team in the next few years are: 1-win at least one IndyCar championship; 2 - win at least 10% of the races they start; 3 - finish 50% of the races in the top five; 4 - finish 75% of the races in the top ten; 5 - finish the championship with two cars in the top ten; 6 - finish at least one car in the top five in the standing each season.

Brahma Brewing Corporation is the leading Latin American brewery with 50% of the Brazilian market. It is the fourth largest brewery in the world and with an eye toward impacting the global beer market it made the decision to add Pruett to the team in an effort to attract the millions of American fans that attend and watch each of the races. This is a pioneering initiative as no Brazilian company has had no annual contract with a foreign pilot in any form of international racing. In addition, Brahma is discussing with Emerson Fittipaldi the possibility of keeping him in the Brahma Sports Team project, depending on his future plans.