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©1999 SpeedCenter Publishing Montreal, Quebec, April 15, 1999 - As it did for the opening race of the season at Homestead, the Player's team will compete at Long Beach this weekend without the Player's name on its CART and Atlantic cars, but the sidepods will bear the mention "Since 1961" to reflect the long tradition of Player's in sponsoring motorsport activities in Canada. Player's and Philip Morris are still trying to resolve the matter of onsite sponsorship activities for races in the United States, an issue arising from the recent agreement among American tobacco manufacturers. "We're still in discussions with Philip Morris but it's a complex issue and our objective is to find a permanent, rather than a short-term solution to the problem," said Player's Ltd. president, Jean-Paul Blais. "Obviously, we are not pleased by the current situation but we're committed to doing everything we can to reach an agreement in the coming weeks." The sponsorship issue at CART events in the United States stems from the Master Settlement Agreement between the Attorneys-General for 46 states and six territories, and the major American tobacco manufacturers, including Philip Morris USA. Under the Agreement, sponsorship by a tobacco company is restricted to one field of activity per brand. Philip Morris USA, which owns the rights to use the Player's name in the United States, has decided to terminate its license agreement with Player's Ltd., since it already uses the Marlboro name for its sponsorship activities in motor racing with Team Penske. Source: Player's Racing Team |
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