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Canadian driver Patrick Carpentier, who recently captured the JimTrueman Rookie of the Year award in the PPG CART World Series, willjoin fellow countryman Greg Moore on the Player's/Forsythe RacingCART Team for the 1998 season. Carpentier and Moore will each driveReynard Mercedes-Benz race cars on Firestone tires.
The 26-year-old French Canadian joins the team as a final step in thePlayer's Driver Development Program (DDP). He won the 1996Player's/Atlantic championship and also received support from thecompany in his rookie CART season with Team Alumax/BettenhausenMotorsports.
"Player's has been an important part of my success for the past threeseasons and they have once again showed tremendous faith in me," saidCarpentier, whose best finish of 1997 was second place at GatewayInternational Raceway. "I believe this is the best move for my careerdevelopment, since Player's devotes a lot of time and attention tocreating the best possible environment for their drivers, both on andoff the track."
For third-year driver Greg Moore, who hails from Maple Ridge, BritishColumbia, the arrival of a new teammate marks an important step inthe team's championship aspirations.
"Patrick and I came in together (in 1995) with the Player's DDP andwe have always had a good relationship," he said. "I am confidentthat we will feed off each other and with ourReynard/Mercedes/Firestone package, we should be in front of the packconsistently next season."
The decision to add a second car to its CART operations has brought anew focus to the Player's Driver Development Program. After fieldingteams at the Indy Lights and Atlantic levels last season, Player'shas opted to remain active in only one development series foropen-wheel racing in 1998. The Indy Lights team, which was a Forsytheoperation in 1995 and 1996, will be discontinued, but the Atlanticprogram will continue with two familiar drivers.
The pairing for the 1998 Player's Atlantic Team will be made up ofCanadians Alex Tagliani and Lee Bentham who finished fifth in theoverall standings as a rookie in Indy Lights and was runner-up toPatrick Carpentier in the Atlantic series in 1996.
The new structure means that David Empringham and Bertrand Godin, whohave given Canadian fans a lot to cheer about over the years, won'tbe back behind the wheel of a Player's car next season. However, theyhave both been offered tremendous opportunities to pursue new careersin motorsport, including within the Player's DDP if they are soinclined.
Player's will make an announcement about its slate ofpartially-funded drivers in the next couple of months.
Source: CART News Service