MARCH 22, 2003

Bernie and CART - a decision soon

The CART Champ Car authorities are saying that a deal with Bernie Ecclestone could be concluded within a matter of two weeks.

"It is coming down to the line in the next two weeks," CART's chief shareholder Gerald Forsythe told the www.speed.com website. "Bernie doesn't do things in half measures. He is concerned about the amount of his time this will take, but I told him that he has two guys over here (Pook and CART chief operating officer David Clare - Ecclestone's right hand man from 1987-'96) who he has complete confidence in to run the show. He says he needs to study the business but he's the guy who knows more about this business than anybody else.

"I remain very optimistic about the prospects. Chris Pook was over there last week speaking with him and I've spoken to him in the last two weeks as well. I reiterated that I think his involvement would be great for CART and for Formula 1, and I didn't hear anything that led me to believe that he's not very positive about the idea."