Penske commits to Reynard for 2001.

Reynard Motorsport has confirmed that it will continue to supply Marlboro Team Penske in next year's FedEx Championship Series, after the former constructor switched its own chassis for that of the Bicester marque in 2000.

Penske, the winningest team in CART history and the leading team in the series so far this season, has been running the Reynard 2Ki Champ Car this year, taking four pole positions and three wins, and recently celebrated its 100th victory at Nazareth after a drought of two years.

''We are delighted that Penske has committed to purchasing our cars for next year's championship,'' commented Reynard managing director Mark Smithson, ''The team has had good performances this year, winning several races and, as with all our teams, this is extremely important to us. Our success is built on the success of our cars - we need to keep winning to keep ahead of our competitors. Penske's decision to continue with Reynard in 2001 is welcome news for us.''

Reynard, the defending CART constructors' champion, retains its dominance as the leading chassis constructor in this premier US race series with over two-thirds of the grid representing the marque. It has an enviable history of success in the Champcar series and, since Michael Andretti debuted the Reynard 94i with a win in its first race in 1994, Reynard customers have won the coveted championship title for the last five years. The company has also won the CART Constructors' Championship for the last five years (1995 - 1999).