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Honda Indy Toronto

Streets of Toronto, 1.75-mile, 11-turn street course

July 10 – 12, 2009, Race #10 of 17

Race Distance: 80 laps

Live Broadcast: (US) ABC 1:00 p.m. ET, (Canada) TSN 1:00 p.m. ET

HONDA INDY TORONTO PRE-RACE NEWS & NOTES

Oh Canada!

Conquest Racing and Canadian Alex Tagliani are back in action this weekend at the Honda Indy Toronto. After taking a hiatus from the streets of Toronto last season, the team is looking forward to returning to the 11-turn 1.75-mile street course. Conquest and Tagliani’s record on street courses this season includes two top-ten finishes at Long Beach and St. Petersburg. The team put in good performances on both tracks and looks to continue their strong form in Toronto.

King Tut Returns

Conquest Racing is welcoming back King Tut as a partner for this weekend. Arts and Exhibitions International have extended their partnership with the team in order to help promote the upcoming King Tut Exhibit, which will be on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario starting in November.

Toronto by the Numbers

Although this will be the first time that the IndyCar Series races on the streets of Toronto it will be the ninth start for both Conquest Racing and Tagliani. In eight starts at the Canadian event, Conquest Racing has a best start of fifth (Justin Wilson, 2004) and a best finish of ninth (Charles Zwolsman, 2006). The team also has four top-ten finishes on the 1.75-mile track. As for Tagliani, the Canadian driver has two-podium finishes (2nd in 2001 and 3rd in 2005) with seven top ten-finishes.

Your Chance to meet the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year

Alex Tagliani will be keeping busy at a number of appearances this week giving you a chance to meet this year’s Indy 500 Rookie of the Year. Wednesday night Alex Tagliani will be present at the Yonge-Dundas Square festivities starting at 6:30 p.m. On Thursday, the Canadian driver will be signing autographs at the Sears store located at 290 Yonge Street in Toronto from noon to 1:30 p.m. before signing more autographs on Friday at the King Tut booth located in Thunder Alley at the track. Tag will be present from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at that event.

Lucky winners

Fans, who get an autograph from Tag on Friday during the autograph session at the King Tut booth, will also get a chance to win a limited-edition pair of Alex Tagliani sunglasses.

QUOTEBOARD

2009 IndyCar Series starts: 4

Best start: 7th (St. Petersburg)

Best Finish: 10th (twice, St. Petersburg, Long Beach)

Points Standings: 21st (75 points)

Overall IndyCar Series starts: 7

Best start: 7th (St. Petersburg – 2009)

Best Finish: 4th (Australia, 2008 – non-championship event)

“I’ve been really looking forward to this race and racing back home in Canada. It’s an important race for me and it’s always a pleasure to be in front of the home crowd. The Toronto track is a really fun and challenging track. What I like most about it is that there is a good mix of different types of corners, which makes going into each section of the track different from the next.

We’ve done well on street courses this season and I think Toronto will be no different. Hopefully we can give our Canadian based sponsors like a good finish. I’m also really excited to be promoting the King Tut Exhibit once again, it’s such an awesome exhibition, and everyone needs to go see it.”

Eric Bachelart, Conquest Team Owner

“We’re really excited to be heading to Toronto this weekend. It’s always a great city to go to for a race and we’re happy to have it back on the schedule. We’ve had good performances on the street courses this year and we are confident we can continue our strong form. We’re also extremely pleased to be partnered again with the King Tut Exhibit and Arts and Exhibitions International.”

- Conquest Racing Press Release

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“Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs” will make its exclusive Canadian appearance at the Art Gallery of Ontario from November 24, 2009 to April 18, 2010, marking the first time in 30 years an exhibition of King Tut’s treasures has visited Toronto. As in Indy, a golden image of the boy pharaoh will once again be featured on the cockpit of the #34 Conquest Racing car of Montreal driver Alex Tagliani with additional King Tut branding on the front wing.

“The King Tut exhibit is an extraordinary one and it’s an honor to be able to promote such a wonderful exhibition once again,” expressed Conquest Racing Team Owner Eric Bachelart. “With the exhibit heading to Toronto after its run in Indianapolis, it’s a natural fit for us to continue our partnership with Arts and Exhibitions International. I invite everyone who is in or who will be in the Toronto area when the exhibit is in town to go see it, as it’s a rare opportunity to see such magnificent ancient treasures and a unique way to learn about ancient Egyptian history.”

The King Tut exhibition is organized by National Geographic, Arts and Exhibitions International and AEG Exhibitions, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.

“We’ve already seen a swell of excitement surrounding the exhibition coming to Toronto,” said Bryan Harris, vice president of marketing and sales, Arts and Exhibitions International. “Partnering with Conquest Racing, Rubicon and Alex Tagliani for the Honda Indy Toronto helps bring the excitement of King Tut to fans in a whole new way.”

The historic collection, which is currently on display until October at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, features more than 100 artifacts from King Tut’s tomb and other ancient Egyptian sites. Additional information and ticket pre-registration is available at www.kingtut.org.

“We are delighted to have Arts and Exhibitions International back on board with their King Tut exhibit for the Toronto event,” said Jim Freudenberg of the Rubicon Sports Agency. “The month of May created a very successful platform for them with Conquest Racing and Alex and with the exhibit heading to Toronto after Indy, it makes sense that we work together again to create awareness and advance ticket sales for them.”

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

On display from November 24, 2009 through April 18, 2010 at the Art Gallery of Ontario, “Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs” features striking objects from some of the most important rulers throughout 2,000 years of ancient Egyptian history, from the 4th Dynasty into the Late Period (about 2600 B.C. – 660 B.C.). Derived from a variety of contexts, including temples and royal and private tombs, most of these artifacts had never visited North America prior to this tour. It will have made stops in Atlanta, GA and Indianapolis before appearing at the AGO.

More information about the exhibition and pre-registration for tickets is available at www.kingtut.org or www.ago.net.

ABOUT CONQUEST RACING

Conquest Racing is amongst the longest-running, well-established open-wheel race teams in the IndyCar Series. The organization is recognized for its simple and efficient ways of doing business as well as its approach to achieving excellence in motor sports. Entering its 13th year of competition in 2009, Conquest Racing has amassed pole positions, podium finishes and race wins through its years in different racing series. The team first participated in Indy Lights from 1997 to 2001, before doing a single season in the IndyCar Series in 2002, where they claimed Rookie of the Year honors. Conquest then competed in the Champ Car World Series from 2003 up until the beginning of 2008 when the team made the transition to the newly unified IndyCar Series.

- Conquest Racing Press Release