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Michel Jourdain Jr. |
MEXICO CITY,
MEXICO . . . Team Rahal, a franchise member of Championship
Auto Racing Teams (CART), and the Gigante Group, one of the
leading self-service retail chains in Mexico, announced today
a primary partnership that will place Michel Jourdain Jr. in a
Team Rahal Ford-Cosworth powered Lola Champ Car featuring
Bridgestone Potenza tires for the 2002 FedEx Championship
Series season.
The
opportunity to begin this relationship with Team Rahal and
Michel Jourdain Jr. is one that we are excited about," said
Gonzalo Barrutieta, Director of Purchasing for Gigante. "We
have tried to take an innovative approach to our marketing and
promotional efforts and we think that expanding our efforts in
sports marketing is the next logical step. We are excited
about the upcoming CART season, with two Mexican races and a
larger Mexican driver presence. In Michel we have found a
talented young driver who will represent our company well both
on and off the track."
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The
Rahal/Gigante car |
"We are
pleased to join in a partnership with Gigante, and to welcome
Michel to our team," said three-time CART champion and Team
Rahal co-owner Bobby Rahal. "Countless hours have gone into
making this relationship come to fruition. One thing became
abundantly clear as we worked on this partnership with
Gigante, that this is a dedicated and driven group of
individuals that has aggressive plans for growth throughout
Mexico and the United States for their company. The fact that
they have chosen the international appeal of CART, a North
American based racing series, to market their product speaks
volumes about the appeal of CART and the strength of the
schedule for the 2002 FedEx Championship Series."
 The Gigante
Group is present in 63 cities in Mexico and in Los Angeles,
California maintaining 375 points of sale specializing in
groceries, perishables and general merchandise. The company
also has specialized restaurants [Toks Restaurantes] and
stores featuring office supplies [Office Depot] and electronic
goods [Radio Shack]. Gigante's first venture into the United
States has been with three stores in southern-California.
Driver
Michel Jourdain Jr. holds the distinction of being the
youngest driver in Champ Car history, an honor he secured when
he made his CART debut in the Grand Prix of Long Beach in 1996
at the age of 19. Entering his seventh season of Champ Car
racing in 2002, Jourdain joins Team Rahal after having spent
the past two-seasons with Bettenhausen Motorsports. In 2001
while piloting a Ford-Cosworth/Lola, he posted a career best
third place finish at Michigan. The popular young native of
Mexico City already has 101 Champ Car starts to his credit.
"Getting
involved from the start with two great organizations like
Gigante and Team Rahal is an amazing opportunity for me," said
Michel Jourdain Jr. "It says a lot about Team Rahal and CART
that a successful international company like Gigante, one that
has never been in racing before, has started a racing program
in the FedEx Championship Series. The chance to drive for
Team Rahal is a dream come true. I have spoken to Bobby in
the past about various opportunities but this time everything
came together and we have a deal. The chance to join the most
successful team in CART from last year and to drive with a
great champion like Jimmy Vasser was the kind of opportunity I
was looking for at this stage of my career. I am looking
forward to helping the team fight for the championship in
2002."
"Michel has
made great strides over the last couple of seasons and I think
he is poised to break through as one of the young stars of
this sport," said Rahal. "Having a teammate like Jimmy Vasser
will be a great benefit to him. The opportunity to be part of
a two-car team that led the series in wins last season and
being able to take advantage of Team Rahal's status as the
Ford-Cosworth factory team makes this an ideal situation for
Michel."
"I am really
looking forward to working with Michel and helping him develop
as a driver," said Jimmy Vasser, 1996 CART champion who will
pilot the Shell car in 2002. "From top to bottom every
individual I have met here at Team Rahal is focused on winning
a championship this season. As a member of Team Rahal I will
help Michel out in any way I can. As his teammate any success
he has on track will ultimately help me as well. I can't
think of anything better than having two front-running cars at
the team."
"It's a
pleasure to welcome a talented young driver like Michel and an
aspiring new sponsor like Gigante to the team," said Team
Rahal co-owner David Letterman. "Team Rahal is unique in
having developed longstanding partnerships with its sponsors
over the years. I hope that today is just the start of a
long, mutually beneficial relationship between Gigante and
Team Rahal."
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Martin Basso
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