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SOFIA, BULGARIA, September 21, 2006 – With fireworks exploding behind him and an excited crowd before him, Zsolt Baumgartner and his Minardi F1x2 car notched up a piece of motorsport history this evening as they brought the sights and sounds of modern Formula One to the streets of Bulgaria’s capital city, Sofia, for the first time.
Watched by thousands of enthusiastic residents, Baumgartner carried out a series of dramatic passenger runs on a specially laid out course incorporating city centre streets closed by the local authorities for the event. To the applause of onlookers, he ended the programme with a noisy, smoke-wreathed spin in front of the Five-Star Sofia Hilton Hotel.
“It’s always great to drive in front of a big crowd and put on a show for them,” said Zsolt at the conclusion of the evening’s activities, which included a visit by three-times Formula One World Champion, Niki Lauda. “The course was very short by our standards, because it’s on city streets, but it was still possible to give a good demonstration to the people of Sofia, many of whom probably have not seen or heard a Formula One car before. Judging by the expressions of the passengers this evening, I think they enjoyed the experience as well!”
Team owner, Paul Stoddart, commented, “It’s an honour for the Minardi F1x2 Team to have been invited to visit Bulgaria and put on a demonstration in front of the people of Sofia. The two-seaters have run on the streets of some of the most famous cities in the world over the last six years, and we are proud that we can now add Sofia to that list.”
The team now moves to the Bojurishte airfield, 15 kms from the centre of Sofia, where the remaining passengers will experience modern Formula One performance first-hand over the next three days.
Photographs from Thursday's Bulgarian event will be posted in the photo gallery section of the team’s official website, www.MinardiF1x2.com.
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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