German 500 to be broadcast live in host country.

The German 500, the return of the Champ Car World Series at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, will be broadcast live on May 11th on German television networks ARD and ORB.

The fifth round of the 18-race Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford schedule marks the return of America's premier open-wheel series to the glittering Lausitzring after a successful inaugural race in 2001.

Starting at 2:00 p.m., the Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB) will carry live excerpts of the pre-race ceremony and the full length of the race. After the end of the DTM (German Touring Car) Series broadcast from Adria International Raceway, Italy, the regional network ARD will join in and also plans to broadcast the last 75 minutes one hour of the race live. Prior to this, ARD will have live Champ Car cut-ins during its DTM coverage.

Eurosport will broadcast the race throughout Europe, tape-delayed that same evening in prime time. In the USA, CBS will broadcast the first oval race of the 2003 season in live in its entirety at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, May 11. In total, the Champ Car World Series will be broadcast in nearly 150 countries and in 58 languages.

"We are highly delighted that we can present to the Champ Car fans this world-class motorsports highlight," said Steffen Simon, the sports director of ORB. "Together with the ARD we shall present a motorsports afternoon that could hardly be more varied and innovative."

On behalf of CART, Octagon CSI negotiated the transmission rights with SportA, the Sports Rights and Marketing Agency of the German television networks ARD and ZDF, and thus secures a national coverage in Germany.The transmission rights were negotiated for CART by Octagon CSI, which has played a key role in both the Lausitz race as well as the preceding Champ Car event in Brands Hatch.

"We are very satisfied with the results of the negotiations. With CART racing we broaden our motor sport portfolio according to the interest of our audience." ensures Hagen Bossdorf, Sports Controller of ARD. "We are highly delighted that we can present to the Champ Car fans this world-class motor sport highlight," said Steffen Simon, the Sports Director of ORB. "Together with the ARD we shall present a motor sports afternoon that could hardly be more varied and innovative."

"Germany is an extremely important market for Champ Car's growth, and I'm delighted that we are in a position to present the German 500 to Champ Car fans all over Germany and the world," said CART President and CEO Christopher R. Pook.

The Champ Car World Series event at EuroSpeedway Lausitz will be the first of three high-speed oval races. Like in the premiere year of the German 500 in 2001, peak speeds of more than 220 mph will be achieved on the 2.023-mile super speedway, which is unique in Europe.

"The live transmission of our race on ARD and ORB will contribute to conveying the extraordinary racing that we have seen at our facility, which is unique throughout Europe," Hans-Jorg Fischer, CEO of EuroSpeedway Lausitz. "The combination of the Champ Cars and the EuroSpeedway should provide a fantastic event for our spectators both at the race and at home on ADR ARD and ORB."