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CITGO Racing's Mexico City Post Race Report

March 4, 2006 �Milka Duno and Marino Franchitti raced to a hard-fought 16th-place finish in the March 4 Rolex Sports Car Series race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City . Duno started the No. 11 CITGO Racing by SAMAX Pontiac-powered Riley Mk XI from 20th on the 37-car grid. She moved up to 17th after 17 minutes of the two-hour 40-minute race and stayed in the top half of the field throughout her stint.  

Unfortunately Duno suffered a drive through penalty when forced over a white line avoiding traffic. The penalty ultimately put the #11 CITGO car one lap behind the leaders.  Franchitti took over at 1h6mins but the way the race played out it was impossible to regain the lap. The 16th place finish was not a true reflection of an outstanding weekends work by the whole team.  

Milka Duno: �It was a tough race for us, I am disappointed about the penalty as everything was going very well but I had no place to go! The CITGO/SAMAX crew worked incredibly hard all week and the car was improving with each and every session leading up to the race. Marino did an excellent job and I'm really glad to have him as my co-driver. The team has really come together in a very short time and we have a very good and talented crew behind us.�  

�The Mexican race fans were simply the best. They were incredibly enthusiastic and very supportive. They cheered from start to finish and made me feel very proud to be able to race with their support!�  

Marino Franchitti: "The biggest problem for us is we're just not getting off the corners. Whether that's engine power, whether that's [engine] mapping, I don't know. When we're going, we're as quick as most people, but whenever we get caught up in traffic, whoever is behind us can just drive past us. I've never worked so hard for 16th place in my life."   The CITGO/SAMAX team will return to action at Duno's home track � Homestead Miami Speedway � on March 25. 

For more information on Milka Duno please visit www.milkaduno.com. Additional information on Marino Franchitti is available at www.marinofranchitti.com.

CITGO, based in Houston , Texas is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, refined waxes, asphalt and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela , S.A. , the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela . For more information on CITGO visit www.citgo.com .


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