JULY 31, 2007

Remember Minardi?

There was a time, not so long ago either, when Minardi was a no-hope team in Formula 1. But now Paul Stoddart has reinvented Minardi in America and Robert Doornbos - the team likes to refer to him as "Bobby D" - is battling for the championship lead in the Champ Car World Series.

There was a time, not so long ago either, when Minardi was a no-hope team in Formula 1. But now Paul Stoddart has reinvented Minardi in America and Robert Doornbos - the team likes to refer to him as Bobby D - is battling for the championship lead in the Champ Car World Series. Doornbos won the San Jose Grand Prix at the weekend, driving from 15th on the grid to close the gap to Sebastien Bourdais to just 10 points. In Champ Car, where a win is worth 31 points, this is not a big margin. And the fact that Doornbos is a rookie is getting everyone very excited.

It was the Dutchman's second win of the season.

There are some in F1 who would suggest that this gives one an indication of the level of competitiveness of the US series - which has been won for three consecutive years by Bourdais.