Williams test driver and 1998 F3000 World Champion, Juan Pablo Montoya , has signed a deal with the CART Target team, to drive for them next year in the FedEx series. Montoya will be replacing CART Champion, Alex Zanardi, who has signed a three-years deal with Formula One's Williams team.

Target team owner, Chip Ganassi, offered the young Columbian a seat in his leading team, after he saw him testing for Williams at Barcelona last week. "I watched Juan Pablo test alongside Alex (Zanardi) ago in Barcelona and was very impressed," Ganassi said. "He comes highly recommended from the people at Williams who've been working with him for the last year. He has a lot of confidence and possesses the tools and skills to be a successful driver for us."

Montoya himself commented saying: "I'm really excited to be joining the Target/Ganassi team. This is a great opportunity for me, to be joining a team that has had so much success and is the top team in the CART series." Frank Williams, owner of the Formula One team, wished his test driver good luck and said, "Juan Pablo has a lot of talent and we are confident Chip Ganassi and his team will offer the right environment to develop his skills further."