THE LAST WORD . . . FOR NOW
FAENZA, ITALY, October 28, 2005 – With the sale of the Minardi F1 Team to Red Bull GmbH due to be concluded on Monday, October 31, the Team Principal for the past five years, Paul Stoddart, today issues the following statement:
“As the time for the handover of the team to its new owners approaches, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all Minardi staff, both on the race team and at the factory, in Italy and the UK, for their support over the last five years, and for the incredible job they have done, given the available resources.
“I would also like to thank all those who have driven for us in 2005 – Patrick Friesacher, Christijan Albers, Robert Doornbos, Chanoch Nissany and Enrico Toccacelo – for their valuable contribution to the team. I would particularly like to single out Robert for the fine job he has done in what might best be described as difficult circumstances. He only joined the team at the 12th round, in Hockenheim, and despite not having driven the Minardi Cosworth PS05 previously or taken part in a Grand Prix, he settled in quickly, got to grips with the car and the team, and was soon on the pace.
“In the eight rounds in which he competed for us, he displayed a high level of driving skill, a consistently positive attitude and excellent technical ability. In fact, despite his relatively short time with us, there is no doubt Robert’s feedback made a significant contribution to the development of the new car.
“I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to our engine partner, Cosworth, to our commercial and technical partners, and to the thousands of Minardi fans around the world, for their unconditional support of the hard-trying little team from Faenza over the years.
“Finally, I want to thank Gian Carlo Minardi. Unless he had possessed the vision and the bravery to strike out into Formula One in the first place, and the resilience to deal with the innumerable problems and difficulties that arose along the way, the team would undoubtedly have suffered the same fate as many well-known, and frequently better funded organisations, and simply fallen by the wayside. Regrettably, the Minardi name will now disappear from the sport, but I firmly believe the competitive spirit that has burned brightly within this team for the past 21 years will live on under its new owners.”
- Ends -
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[Edited on 28/10/2005 by MCSF]
Comments
PS I think you should take off those phone numbers just to be safe.
BTW is Stoddie angling to become Bobbie's agent? That testimonial is more like a love letter.
Anyway, despite everything, I'll miss the old bugger. Coincidentally, I was looking at an album of my holiday down under in 2002 today and came across the pictures from Albert Park. I was sitting to next a bemused Italian that day - he was supporting you-know-who but by the end of the race was backing Webbo too. He taught me how to say 'forza' properly. We embraced. I cried.
Forza Minardi.
Forever.
He's good, but you dont need that crap to be noticed.
i feel like giving fire to the minichamps esteban tuero small model i have.
i have nothing else to do now but to shout
FORZA FERRARI, The ONLY Italian Team
F**K TORO ROSSO, The Stupid Team
PS I'll have any Telefonica stuff you've got.
[Edited on 29/10/2005 by viges]
Sorry Rj, decided to keep him for now, I will take esteban with me for the december exams! he will bring me luck.
As for Telefonica , I have Mazzacane's car, I'm keeping it too for a while.
When I look at the cars and all the mInardi items I have collected over the years I feel much more depressed.:(
(My wife is thinking I am crazy crying over a Formula One team but us it meant too much!
F*** Squadra Toro Rosso! I really hope you get zero points next year, the year later and after and after!
On the other hand, the name is so poor I'm going to struggle to keep a straight face when James Allen attempts to pronounce it.
If VK had taken over Minardi I would be happier, but I hate the drink of Red Bull, so...
And don't be so stupid. Do you burn the pictures of your love ones when they die?? Show them with pride, be happy of the beautiful times you had. Don't throw them away.
A bit to much praise fot Robert in my opinion. He didn't look the new Webber or Alonso to me.
And what about the special word for Mr. Minardi from PS. That must have done you some good, Quig.
Im interested in the "for now" part. Glimmer of hope?