Patrick confirms Visteon, Servia for 2003.

Patrick Racing has announced that Visteon Corporation will continue as the primary sponsor for its #20 CART entry next season, and that Oriol Servia will continue to drive for the team after impressing in the second half of 2002.

"I am pleased to announce today the continuation of Visteon Corporation's sponsorship of the #20 Visteon/Patrick Racing entry in the 2003 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford," Patrick began, "I am also happy to say that Oriol Servia will drive for our team.

"Visteon has been a tremendous sponsor and outstanding partner over the past five years and we look forward to continuing the relationship through the 2003 season. I am also excited about having Oriol driving the complete season for our team. He did a fine job for us after taking over at mid-season last year and is a tremendous talent. We are pleased to be able to give him the opportunity to continue to race with our team and are looking forward to challenging for the championship in 2003."

The 28-year old Spaniard originally joined Patrick Racing at the end of July for a five race trial, but impressed sufficiently with both his technical knowledge and race pace and was signed to campaign the remainder of the year, having started it with PacWest Racing. The team had previously campaigned a sole entry for Indy Lights champion Townsend Bell, before the American was dropped after a series of accidents.

During the 2003 season, Servia finished in the points in eight of the 13 races he contested, and five of ten with Visteon/Patrick Racing. He had two top five and six top-ten showings in his 13 starts, with a season-high fourth place showing at the Rockingham 500. Next season will be his fourth in Champcar competition.

"I am very proud and happy that Mr Patrick has the confidence to allow me to continue racing with the Visteon/Patrick Racing Team, and I want to thank him for this opportunity," Servia said, "I also want to thank Visteon Corporation and the entire Visteon/Patrick Racing Team for their support. We didn't achieve all of our goals last year, but we worked hard and made a lot of progress during the second half of the season. I am looking forward to continuing to develop with the team and contending for the championship in 2003."

The 2003 season will be the sixth year of Patrick Racing's alliance with Visteon, a leading full-service supplier of technology solutions to automotive manufacturers worldwide.