DETROIT (Nov. 5, 1996) – Several IndyCar owners and drivers had a sneak preview Monday of Twin Ring Motegi and came away extremely impressed with the facility.

IndyCar owners Chip Ganassi, Steve Horne, Jim Hall, Doug Peterson, Don Erb and Derrick Walker were joined by drivers Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Andre Ribeiro, Adrian Fernandez, Gil de Ferran and Parker Johnstone for a tour of the complex that is situated in the city of Motegi, which is 60 miles north of Tokyo.

The Honda-owned complex currently is under construction and is scheduled to open in August of 1997. The PPG Indy Car World Series will make its debut in the spring of 1998.

The following are remarks from several members of the group from Tokyo on Tuesday:

· PPG Cup champion Jimmy Vasser, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing: "It’s unlike any other project in the world, with a championship oval and a world-class road course. I expected to see construction of a race track, not an engineering marvel. It is the future of what a motorsports complex will look like."

· Parker Johnstone, Brix Comptech Racing: "I’m most impressed with Honda’s commitment to the future. To undertake something of such enormity shows that Honda’s racing heritage is extremely important. Only Honda can move mountains. … It [the track configuration] is like a small Michigan [Speedway], although it doesn’t have quite the banking. It appears that it will be very fast. For spectators, it will be unbelievable."

· Gil de Ferran, Walker Racing: "It is definitely one of the most impressive motorsports arenas I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been to tracks all over Europe, Brazil and North America. It will be one of the best, if not the best. It looks like it will be a very fast oval, something between a superspeedway and a short oval. It’s not like any oval in America."

· Steve Horne, Tasman Motorsports: "The size of the project is difficult to describe. The quality of the work and design is first class. Obviously, it is going to be a major world racing facility, not only for oval racing but for all forms of racing. I’ve seen other tracks under construction, but nothing compares to Motegi."

· Chip Ganassi, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing: "To say that Motegi will be the premier racing facility in the world is just the tip of the iceberg in what the facility will mean to the world of motor racing. Coming from the construction business, seeing the amount of earth being moved to build Motegi you can see the magnanimous scope of the project."

· Derrick Walker, Walker Racing: "I was very impressed. It has all the makings of the best motor racing facility in the world. This is a great opportunity for IndyCar to create worldwide interest in the sport. There is no better place to go to create that interest than to a world-class facility."

· Andre Ribeiro, Tasman Motorsports: "I was very impressed with the whole project. It shows an incredible commitment to motor racing. It is a fantastic project for all the IndyCar teams and drivers, but especially for the fans. Motegi is going to be the type of track where I’ve had the most success – at the type of oval that Motegi is. I look forward to racing at Motegi because it is the type of track that will suit my driving style."

· Doug Peterson, Brix Comptech Racing: "What impressed me more than the track was all the civil engineering that was done. There must have been a number of years of preparation before they even thought about building the track. That shows the huge commitment behind the project. This shows Honda’s huge commitment to make IndyCar a world-recognized sport. Honda builds the best Indy car engines and they are going to build the best Indy car track."