Carpentier takes to the sky in jet battle.

Canadian Champ Car star Patrick Carpentier was the centre of attention at Bagotville airfield in Quebec last weekend when he pitted his Reynard-Ford against a CF-18 Hornet jet fighter, one of the air-forces most potent weapons.

On Saturday, the Canadian driver was given a ride in the craft, which is capable of 180 knots before it even takes off and has 32,000lbs of torque available to it.

"The highlight of my weekend remains the that mission we flew aboard the CF-18 and seeing the skills required to ride the machines," said Carpentier in awe. "I have a great deal of respect for Captain [Patrice] Hervieux and his crew."

A day after being taken for the ride of a lifetime, Carpentier and Captain Patrice Hervieux of the Canadian airforce went head to head in the ultimate test of speed. The rules were simple, Carpentier's Reynard-Ford and Hervieux's CF-18 would run side by side on two adjacent runways for a distance of 3,000 feet and the quickest vehicle over that distance would be declared the winner. Both would go from a standing start and the plane would not be allowed to take off, other than that it was all out for glory.

A 20,000 strong crowd came to the airfield to watch two of the most technically advanced machines in their field do battle. The runway was cold and slippery but Carpentier was still able to out-run the plane, putting the turbo-charged Ford engine and some aerodynamic tweaks to good effect. The margin of victory was very small as the plane gathered momentum and the crowd cheered enthusiastically as the victorious Carpentier performed several donuts and tricks for the fans.

When the Reynard had been packed away, the crowd were then treated to an incredible display of speed and precision as Captain Hervieux made a number of low flying passes.

Carpentier and the Player's Forsythe team now have to get themselves prepared for this weekend's Tenneco Grand Prix of Detroit and will return to their Indianapolis base before moving onto the Belle Isle venue.