How Minardi became a race winner outside F1

In late 2005, the Minardi Formula 1 team disappeared from Formula1. Red Bull purchased the team and renamed it Toro Rosso as itcommenced a two-team operation. Currently it runs as AlphaTauri butwill undergo another name change ahead of the 2024 campaign. Whileits long-standing presence in F1 was extinguished, Minardi's namedidn't disappear from the wider motorsport scene. Paul Stoddartcontinued to run the programme with the same passion and enthusiasmin the ChampCar Series in 2007. The ChampCar Series began a newchapter with the all-new Panoz DP01 chassis, a somewhat plump buttraditional racer. Stoddart got in touch with ChampCar owner KevinKalkhoven and HVM Racing owner Keith Wiggins during the race atSurfers Paradise in 2006. In late November of that year, Stoddarttook a majority stake in HVM Racing, and renamed the team MinardiTeam USA for 2007. “They wanted to use our two-seater F1 programme,which worked really well,” Stoddart exclusively told RacingNews365. “And the rest, as they say, was history. “I mean, we went in withsome former Minardi personnel and some HVM personnel. We had apretty good, talented team.” Reaching the top step Driving for theteam during the 2007 season was Dutchman Robert Doornbos, who had ashort stint with Minardi in 2005 before three outings with Red Bullthe year after. But Doornbos was not necessarily Stoddart's firstchoice two years after they teamed up in F1. “Doornbos came by wayof sponsorship,” he asserted. “Don’t get me wrong, Robert did agood enough job but he was there strictly because of thatsponsorship.” After 340 Formula 1 Grands Prix (the 10th most for aConstructor), Minardi failed to reach the top step of the podium.However a victory came its way in ChampCar when Doornbos securedtwo victories en route to third place in the Drivers' Championship.“With Robert, at least working with a really good engineer, he wasable to take advantage in the fact that the races we won, Roberthad a first lap incident that put us off strategy,” Stoddartoutlined. “But by putting us off strategy, it won us the race. “Nowthat's not to take anything away from Robert, because it's onething to say ‘if we get another caution, you don't have to stop’.“But you still got to deliver and keep it on the black stuff. Andwhen we told Robert to do something, he did it. So I can't complainabout that. We were runners-up in the championship but as a team.It felt good to be lifting first place and being up on thatpodium.” Real Minardi victories Despite working with HVM, did itfeel like a true Minardi victory then? “Yes indeed. As I said, alot of the workforce came off Minardi and with the Minardi Team USAname, people actually cheered for the Minardi name,” said Stoddart.“It was a good feeling. “We were the runner-up in the Teams'Championship and it felt really good to hold up that trophy forvictory, as well as those for second and third places. I think weended up on the podium six times. “It was so much more relaxed thanF1. You didn't have all the dramas of getting people into the pits,you didn't have all the dramas of protocols. It was still veryserious racing. “But it just didn't have the difficulty that issometimes associated with F1. And the politics, the team meetingsare much more relaxed. People generally voted for things to improvethe series and the sport rather than for their own personalinterests.” ChampCar ceased to exist after the 2007 season and theclass merged with the IRL, creating a single IndyCar class.Stoddart had little interest in keeping his entry alive in theseries. “My interest was in proper racing on street circus. Ovals,despite all the hype around the Indy 500, which is certainly aspectacular race... but for me, and I'm not being funny, at 50years old, I could have got in the car and won the Indy 500. “Itwas all one strategy - just being able to have balls, keep yourfoot down and stay out of the walls. That's not F1. F1 is pureracing. ChampCar was pure racing.”