Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Gordon to swap cars on Wednesday

Munich, 5th June 2003. A date for the diary - on Wednesday, 11th June Monaco GP winner Juan Pablo Montoya and four-time NASCAR Champion Jeff Gordon will be exchanging race cars in Indianapolis - the WilliamsF1 BMW FW24 against the beefy Chevrolet. Neither Montoya nor Gordon have sat behind the wheel of each other's car, despite both being celebrated stars of the race track. On the Indianapolis Motor Speedway they will each be venturing onto the other's territory for the first time.

Following a brief warm-up at 12 p.m. local time, the American star will be the first to do his laps in the FW24. Then Montoya will set off in the Chevrolet. Afterwards, both drivers will go out onto the track together. Fans will be admitted free to this event and there will also be a press conference.

Both drivers are familiar with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and still have lots of ambitions to realise on this historic circuit. In 2000, Montoya (27) won the Indy 500 on the world's most famous oval track, and in September 2003 he will launch another attempt to secure a historic double victory by winning the US Grand Prix as well.

Jeff Gordon (31) has already won the Brickyard 400 three times - one of the highlights of the NASCAR season. In August 2003 he will be bidding for his fourth victory at Indianapolis. Gordon has not driven a single mile of the GP course, which covers only part of the oval in addition to a twisty infield section, running in the reverse direction to the stock car oval.

Montoya, only previously a spectator at NASCAR events, is looking forward to some sheer driving pleasure four days ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix: "It's a great car swap. We're both going to have a lot of fun. The weight of the NASCAR will really make itself felt in the turns and it will also mean much longer braking distances. Jeff, on the other hand, will be surprised by the power and handling of our Formula One car. There's simply nothing to compare it with."