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LEDBURY, ENGLAND, June 15, 2001 – The first outing of the year for the exciting Minardi two-seater Formula One cars was an unqualified success, according to all who were present yesterday at the Donington Park circuit, near Nottingham. In the course of a busy day, 36 intrepid individuals experienced first-hand the performance of a modern Grand Prix car as they were driven at racing speeds around the twists, turns and dips of the challenging Derbyshire track.
“Chauffeurs” for the four F1x2 chassis present at Donington – the team has built eight of these unique machines – were regular European Minardi F1 driver, Tarso Marques, team boss, Paul Stoddart, plus David Saelens and Andrea Piccini of the European Minardi F3000 team.
Between them, they lapped the Donington “National” circuit 180 times, hit speeds as high as 292 km/h on the longest straight, and braked from that velocity down to 80 km/h in a distance of only 130 metres, subjecting themselves and their passengers to 3.5 g loads along the way. And just in case anyone might have thought the drivers were taking it easy on this occasion, it’s worth noting that Marques’ fastest lap of the day was 59.60 seconds, just over a second off the outright lap record for the track, also set by a Formula One car – but without a passenger on board.
The Donington Park programme marked the first of six such events due to be staged by the team this year. The other dates and venues are:
July 6, 7, 8 Goodwood Festival of Speed, England
August 4 Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
August 21 Donington Park, England
September 25 Donington Park, England
October 31 Misano Adriatico, Italy
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the way things have gone today,” commented Paul Stoddart, after climbing from his car, resplendent in European Minardi F1 livery, following the final run of the afternoon. “The comments and the facial expressions of our passengers today really said it all: this is the closest most people will ever get to experiencing the thrill of being in a Formula One car at racing speeds.
“The F1x2 programme provides a strong component of the unique marketing and promotional package that European Minardi can offer to sponsors and partners, as well as to outside organisations.”
Media contact
Graham Jones
Tel: +44 20 8657 3942 Mob: +44 7767 301303
e-mail: Graham.Jones@MinardiF1X2.com
Minardi F1X2 Operations Centre
European Hall, Bromyard Road, Ledbury, Herefordshire United Kingdom HR8 1LG
Tel: +44 1531 638105 Fax: +44 1531 634525
e-mail: enquiries@MinardiF1X2.com |
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