Winning the Race to End Malaria Deaths

Malaria No More and Patrón Highcroft Racing Launch \"Miles To End Malaria\"

Patrón Highcroft Racing is gearing up for its race debut in the American Le Mans Series, but the Danbury, CT-based team has also joined the race to save lives from malaria, a preventable disease that kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds.

The Acura sports car squad has teamed up with Malaria No More, to launch the "Miles to End Malaria" campaign an effort that invites race fans to join forces with the team to tackle the disease.

Patrón Highcroft Racing will kick off the fundraising efforts by donating five dollars for every mile the team completes in the 2009 race season—approximately 4,500 miles—to Malaria No More. That contribution has been matched by the team's sponsor, Tequila Patrón, for a starting point of $10 per mile.

Race fans will be able to join the race to save lives by visiting www.MilesToEndMalaria.org and pledging as little as a penny per mile to the cause. Fans will be able to track the team's progress and their own donation online throughout the season.

To further highlight the "Miles To End Malaria" partnership and raise awareness among the racing community, Patrón Highcroft Racing is displaying the Malaria No More logo on its brand new Acura ARX-02a racecar.

"The more we learned about malaria, the more we wanted to help", said Patrón Highcroft Racing team owner, Duncan Dayton. "Another child dies in Africa every 45 seconds from malaria—so during the Twelve Hours of Sebring, that's nearly 1,500 children. "We hope by launching Miles to End Malaria and displaying the Malaria No More logo on our car, we can not only raise important funds for this cause, but also educate fans about the disease."

With the initial pledges from Patrón Highcroft Racing and Tequila Patrón, every mile sends another mosquito net to a family in Africa. This partnership is a vital component of Malaria No More's efforts to provide every person in Africa at risk of malaria with a mosquito net by the end of 2010.

"Malaria No More is racing to end malaria deaths and every second counts," said Malaria No More CEO Scott Case. "That's why we're proud to partner with the Patrón Highcroft Racing team to launch 'Miles to End Malaria'—inviting the sportscar community to count every mile as another victory against malaria."

The American Le Mans Series is a major international sportscar series styled after the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. Patrón Highcroft Racing's drivers for the 2009 season are David Brabham and Scott Sharp. The 10-race championship kicks off at the Twelve Hours of Serbing in Florida on March 21 where they will be joined by Dario Franchitti.

The green flag waves for the Twelve Hours of Sebring at 10.30am on Saturday, March 21—kicking off the Malaria No More campaign in the best possible way.  The team is aiming to complete nearly 1300 miles in the opening event of the season.