Montoya to swap cars at Indianapolis

By BMW Press release
April 18 2003

	Montoya set to swap cars
	Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials announced April 17 that four-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner and Formula One superstar Juan Pablo Montoya will participate in speed demonstration laps in their cars on Wednesday, June 11 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Gordon and Montoya will trade places at the Speedway when they take turns driving laps around the 2.606-mile road course in Gordon's DuPont Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Montoya's BMW WilliamsF1 BMW FW25 car. This will be the first time that Gordon and Montoya will be behind the wheel of a Formula One car and NASCAR Winston Cup car, respectively. "The Indianapolis Motor Speedway staff is excited to play host to such an event," said Joie Chitwood, senior V.P. of IMS Business Affairs. "Jeff and Juan are race car drivers who love to drive cars - fast. So it's going to be fun to watch them experiment in different cars on the road course." Gordon will attempt to win his fourth Brickyard 400 on Sunday, Aug. 3 at the Speedway. He has competed in 12 events on the Speedway oval: nine NASCAR Winston Cup races and three IROC events. The demonstration laps will be his first laps on the IMS road course. "There are a lot of things to coordinate to make this happen," said Gordon. "I'm just excited about this opportunity. It's something I've dreamed of, just getting behind the wheel of an F1 car and seeing what it was like. I don't plan on going F1 racing, but I would love to just get that experience." Montoya, who won the 2000 Indianapolis 500, will attempt to become the first driver in Speedway history to win on both the famed 2.5-mile oval and road course when he competes in the fourth United States Grand Prix on Sept. 28. He is in his third season with BMW WilliamsF1 and has one career win, ten career poles and is sixth in the 2003 FIA Driver's Championship. "The experience will be very interesting, and driving a big, heavy NASCAR car will certainly be different," said Montoya. "I don't think Jeff should be concerned that I will take away his job, but I will enjoy the opportunity of driving his Chevrolet and letting him take my BMW WilliamsF1 Team car for a drive on Indy's road course." In addition to the demonstration laps, Montoya and Gordon will participate in a media luncheon and press conference. Fans will have free access to IMS' South Terrace grandstands for viewing. Trading places: Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Gordon to drive NASCAR and F1 respectively at Indy Could I borrow your car? Imola (ITA), 18th April 2003. Some cars you just wouldn't lend to anybody. A Formula One race car, for example, or a NASCAR. Or maybe you would? On 11th June 2003, on the Wednesday before the Canadian Grand Prix, Juan Pablo Montoya will be taking the Chevrolet of four-time NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At the same time, Gordon will be getting behind the wheel of the WilliamsF1 BMW FW25 of Formula One's Colombian star. This unusual car swap is causing quite a stir on either side of the Atlantic, both in the homeland of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team and among America's NASCAR followers. That's because the laps the drivers are planning to do on the 2.606-mile (4.2-kilometre) Grand Prix circuit of the legendary US race track will be the first time either will have tried out the other's breed of car. Fans will be admitted to this spectacle free of charge. At the press conference to follow, the drivers will talk about their experiences. Both racing drivers associate the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with special victories and high aspirations. In 2000, Montoya (27) won the 500-mile race on the world's most famous oval track and will be staging another attempt in September 2003 to claim a historic double victory by winning the US Grand Prix as well. Jeff Gordon (31) has already taken three victories in the Brickyard 400 - one of the highlights of the NASCAR season. In August 2003 he will be gunning for his fourth win. He hasn't yet covered a single mile of the GP circuit, which only takes in part of the oval but includes a twisty infield section, as well as running in the opposite direction. "I'm just excited about this opportunity. It's something I've dreamed of, just getting behind the wheel of an F1 car and seeing what it was like," said the Californian. "I don't plan on going F1 racing, but I would love to just get that experience." Juan Pablo Montoya is similarly delighted at the prospect of this novel experience: "It will be very interesting for me, and driving a big, heavy NASCAR will certainly be different to driving a Formula car. I will enjoy the opportunity, and I don't think Jeff should be concerned that I will take away his job."