CITGO/SAMAX and Patrick Carpentier

Patrick Carpentier will join CITGO Racing by SAMAX for the Aug. 26 Rolex Sports Car Series race at Infineon (Sears Point) Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. He will drive the No. 11 Pontiac-powered Riley Mk XI with Milka Duno of Caracas, Venezuela, replacing Olivier Beretta of Monaco, who was called away for a Michelin Formula One tire test.

Carpentier, who resides in Las Vegas and Joliette, Qué., is best known for his success in open-wheel racing. He set a record pace en route to the 1996 Player's / Toyota Atlantic Championship title, was the 1997 Championship Auto Racing Teams rookie of the year and finished third in the 2004 Champ Car World Series. He competed in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series in 2005 and finished fourth in the series race at Infineon Raceway.

He made his first Rolex 24 At Daytona sports-car start in January and has competed in three A1 Grand Prix races this season. After a brief sabbatical at his Québec ranch, he's anxious to get back on track.

"I am extremely delighted to start racing again. It was good to take a few months off and spend some time with my kids on the ranch, but now it is time to go back to racing," he said. "This is a track I enjoyed last year with the IRL and I'm looking forward to going back to it. I want to thank the team and its affiliated sponsors for giving me this opportunity."

Carpentier will work with CITGO/SAMAX race engineer Steve Challis of Indianapolis, Ind., for the Sonoma race. The two were on the same team in 1998, but will be assigned to the same car for the first time this week.

"I'm looking forward to finally working with Pat. He has always had great results on natural road courses like Mid- Ohio and Laguna," Challis said, referring to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, and Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif.  "In this series, most of our races are on natural road courses, which he excelled in. I'm excited about our chances."

The Rolex Sports Car Series race is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 26 on the 2.52-mile Infineon Raceway road course in Sonoma, Calif.