May 14, 2004
For immediate release;

TORONTO, ONTARIO -

On May, 13 Suncor Energy Products announced it was renewing and expanding its sponsorship of the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship presented by Toronto Star Wheels. The new agreement with Ron Fellows and ASN Canada will run until 2007, and will provide for the continued growth of the karting series. Also included in the agreement is the Sunoco Team Ultra 94 F2000 evaluation and scholarship program, the only racing scholarship program which provides full funding for a select number of karters to move up into real open wheel car racing through the Bridgestone Racing Academy and their F2000 racing series.

The Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship presented by Toronto Star Wheels was inaugurated in 2002, and was designed to encourage young racers to apply the same discipline and professionalism found in senior motor sports competition, thus helping prepare ambitious and talented young kart drivers to move successfully into professional car racing.

"This commitment to the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship presented by Toronto Star Wheels program makes this the central focus of our racing program and a part of our performance heritage," said Patricia Anderson, Suncor Energy Products' Director of Marketing. "We're pleased to work with Ron, ASN Canada FIA and the Ontario KartSport Development Group to ensure the development of the next generation of world class young Canadian race drivers."

"With the help of Sunoco, ASN Canada FIA and the OKDG, we have succeeded in creating what we believe to be the best kart racing series in North America," said Ron Fellows. "It makes me enormously proud to see the change in the presentation and performance of the teams and drivers who compete in the series. Now, we're taking our partnership to a new level and the series will benefit accordingly."

At the end of the 2002 season, three Sunoco Ron Fellows kart racers were selected from the ten invited to an Evaluation Day at the Bridgestone Racing Academy to go into the 2003 Bridgestone/FormulaCar Magazine F2000 series as fully-funded Sunoco Team Ultra 94 drivers.

St. Catharine's Matt Champagne emerged as the series champion. Vancouver's Jordy Vorrath took the most pole positions and was second in the championship, and Uxbridge's Aaron de Heus finished fifth in a series of more than 20 talented competitors. This year, the Sunoco Team Ultra 94 banner will be borne by Simcoe's Juliana Chiovitti, Gilford's Frank Launi and Ottawa's Jamie Holtom.

The series will continue to run under the management of Paul Cooke, Vice President of Competition for ASN Canada FIA, the regulatory and sanctioning body for most motorsport events in Canada. "I don't know of any other karting series in the world that is so closely tied to the international sporting authority," said Ron Fellows. "We're extremely fortunate to have people like Paul Cooke who take such a professional interest and who share the same goals as our series."

The regulations for on and off-track behaviour and general race procedures have been designed to be very close to those for car racing, providing training and experience to young kart drivers who choose to pursue car racing careers. Kart racing is the fastest growing form of motor sport in the world.

The Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship presented by Toronto Star Wheels has been designed to introduce young people to the world of racing in an exciting way that is safe and as close to the real world of professional racing as possible. Drivers can start kart racing at age seven.

Suncor Energy Products Inc.
Suncor Energy Products Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suncor Energy Inc., a Canadian integrated energy company. In addition to a refinery in Sarnia, Suncor Energy Products has a network of 281 Sunoco-branded retail and Fleet Fuel cardlock sites and has a 50 per cent joint venture interest in over 200 Pioneer and UPI retail sites. Suncor Energy Products Inc. manufacturers, distributes and markets transportation fuels, heating oils and petrochemical primarily in Ontario.
For more information, see the Sunoco website at www.sunoco.ca


For more information, please contact:
Brad Brown, [email protected] (416)-233-8727
Russ Bond, 905-852-2900 [email protected]
Paul Cooke, ASN Canada FIA - 905-403-9000