CHAMPCAR/CART: Magnussen to drive for Penske in 1996

>From IndyCar media relations

Jan Magnussen To Substitute For Paul Tracy At Mid-Ohio

Penske Racing today announced that Jan Magnussen will drive the #3 Marlboro Penske Mercedes, substituting for the injured Paul Tracy, in the Miller 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Mansfield, Ohio (August 8-11).

Tracy, who suffered a chip fracture of the sixth vertebra following an accident at Michigan International Speedway on July 27, is recuperating at home in Paradise Valley, Arizona and will continue to be evaluated on a week-to-week basis by Dr. Terry Trammel, IndyCar Director of Medical Affairs and Services.

Following the Mid-Ohio event, plans call for Magnussen to transfer to Hogan Penske Racing for the remainder of the 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series. Replacing the injured Emerson Fittipaldi, Magnussen will pilot the #9 Marlboro Penske Mercedes in the Elkhart Lake, Vancouver and Laguna Seca events.

In a joint statement, Roger Penske and Carl Hogan said, "Since the incidents at the Marlboro 500, we've had time to meet as a Team and formulate a plan to move forward. We are fortunate to have someone of Jan's caliber to fill in for our drivers. Jan has extensive road racing experience and we look forward to working with him for the remainder of the season."

The 23 year-old Magnussen currently drives for AMG in the International Touring Car Championship (ITC) and is a test driver for Marlboro McLaren Mercedes on the Formula One circuit. He won the ITC opening race in Hockenheim earlier this year and finished second in the ITC Driver's Championship in 1995. He competed in his only Formula One race in 1995 when he filled in for McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen in the Pacific Grand Prix (Aida, Japan) and finished tenth. In 1994, Jan drove for Paul Stewart Racing and won the British Formula Three Championship. The Danish-born driver is a member of the Mercedes-Benz Junior Team which was formed in 1989 to develop young talent.

Magnussen was fitted for the car on Monday at the Team's Reading-based race shop before participating in today's scheduled test with Al Unser Jr. at Sebring, Florida.

Fittipaldi, who underwent surgery on July 29 at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami to repair a fracture of his seventh cervical vertebra suffered in an opening-lap accident at the Marlboro 500, was released on August 1 to begin his recuperation which is expected to take approximately three months.