MINTEX ARE MASTERS OF MARTINSVILLE

Bobby Labonte and Matt Kenseth complete a 1-2 for Mintex pads in the NASCAR Virginia 500

The Virginia 500 at Martinsville Speedway on April 14th saw Bobby Labonte and Matt Kenseth produce a show-stopping display to clinch first and second places on Mintex F2R racing brake pads.

The demanding layout at Martinsville consistently produces some of the wildest, bumper-to-bumper, push and shrove racing on the NASCAR calendar, and the half-mile oval is renowned as a tough track that's even tougher on brakes.

This years Virginia 500 lived up to all expectations, and Mintex had to pull out all the stops to finish top of the pile. In his best finish at Martinsville, Matt Kenseth commented; "It's a tough race track. It's flat and slow and uses a ton of brakes."

Despite being relative newcomers to NASCAR, Mintex brake pads are proving to be the force of the field. Confidence is growing through the results that have been achieved by drivers running Mintex F-Series pads, including an outright 1-2 victory at the brake-sapping Watkins Glen road course.

Mintex increasing popularity in the USA comes in part from their recent partnership with race specialists PEI of Charlotte who are pre-running and bedding brake discs with Mintex F-compound racing pads under simulated NASCAR conditions.

This level of commitment is a clear sign of the company's intent to show themselves as innovators, and can only help to re-produce results like that at Martinsville, where the cars are on the brakes on average every 11 seconds, and maintain brake disc temperatures of 700°C for in excess of three hours.

Mintex has a long and illustrious motor racing history behind it - from club racing to F1 - and its major push in US motorsport has resulted in over 30% of NASCAR Winston Cup competitors now regularly running Mintex brake products.

With major teams in the CART FedEx series doing likewise, it is a further illustration of how the international market leader has stepped up the pace considerably over the last year.

Mintex Sales and Marketing Manager, Terry Armstead, commented; "It's a great start to the season for Mintex and shows our intent to make our mark worldwide. With the development of world-leading racing friction compounds plus the facilities like that at Charlotte, Mintex will continue to produce record-braking performances."

Further press information and photographs from Michael Hodges,
Mintex Press Office
Tel: 01491 411777
Fax: 01491 412777
E-mail: michael.hodges@mph.co.uk

Issued on behalf of TMD Friction UK by MPH Communications.
54a Queen Street, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon, RG9 1AP

MIN/104/02