DECEMBER 18, 2006

Stoddart buys HVM

Paul Stoddart has acquired a majority shareholding in the HVM Champ Car team and will rename the operation Team Minardi USA. The plan is for the team to continue to be run by Keith Wiggins and for it to run "multiple" entries in the series in 2007. There is no further word on who will drive the cars but it is exepcted that Minardi will also run an extensive two-seater programme in the United States, presumably using the old F1 single-seaters which Stoddart kept control of when he sold the Minardi F1 team to Red Bull.