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<body> <Table Width="550" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD Width="35"><IMG SRC="//www.totalmotorsport.com/images/spacer.gif" WIDTH="35" HEIGHT="1"></td><td> <CENTER><Table border="0" width="100%"> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="5">AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">27/06/2002</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">Ascari step down</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">British team concentrates on road car</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="1">  </FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">Klaas Zwart, Chairman of Banbury-based Ascari Cars, announced today that the company will, for the rest of the year, be concentrating the majority of its energies on its exciting Ascari KZ1 supercar project. The company's racing division, Team Ascari, will continue to field cars in the NDS EuroBOSS Series - which it has dominated - and develop the sports-prototype Ascari-Judd KZR1, although future races for these cars have yet to be identified.<BR> <BR> Ascari are currently conducting exhaustive tests on the 500bhp V8 powered, carbon-fibre chassised KZ1 with a view to going into production in 2003. The company already has advanced orders and is hoping that its presence at October's International Motor Show in Birmingham will further boost sales. <BR> <BR> Commented Zwart, "The sportscar racing programme has focussed attention on, and given credibility to, the Ascari brand. Many of the lessons learned have translated onto the road car. Now is the time to concentrate on every aspect of the road car, not just the car itself, but sales and service support."<BR> <BR> "We believe there is a market for a supercar that embraces the very latest motor sport technology including a carbon composite chassis but is also the height of luxury, styling and sophistication."<BR> <BR> "We will continue to race our Formula 1 cars in the NDS EuroBOSS Series and hope to score many more 1-2-3 results, but I have had to slim down the sportscar programme. I'd like to praise Team Ascari Race Director Ian Dawson, the drivers and everyone else involved." <BR> <BR> Last year Ascari took on the established names of sportscar racing and won the FIA Sports Car Championship round at Donington Park. This year Werner Lupberger put the car on the front row at the Daytona 24 Hours. At the Sebring 12 Hours, Ben Collins, Justin Wilson and Christian Vann finished sixth overall. This was the second best ever result by an all-British crew in an all-British car in the 50 year history of the tough Florida classic.<BR> <BR> Dutch-born businessman Zwart has recently combined the road and racing divisions of Ascari under the same roof in a brand new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire. As the car moves into production a number of new jobs will be created.<BR> <BR> </FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><BR> </CENTER> <BR><CENTER><font size="1" color="#808080" face="Tahoma">Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport</font></CENTER> </td> </tr> </table> </body>