Minardi team owner Paul Stoddart has organised the world’s first two-seater Formula One race at Donington Park. Minardi drivers Tarso Marques, Fernando Alonso and none other than 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell will be showing off their skills.
An entire grid of two-seater Formula One cars will take part in a historic race at England’s Donington Park Raceway next week. Minardi team owner Paul Stoddart has organised the event, called Thunder In The Park, as a means of thanking his sponsors and bringing the sport closer to the fans by creating an open day.
Regular team drivers Tarso Marques and Fernando Alonso will be joined by 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell, new team signing Alex Yoong and Stoddart himself, to race five of the cars built for corporate rides with five lucky passengers for 12 laps around Donington. The track was last used for a Grand Prix in 1993.
On-track entertainment will include an hour-long qualifying session for the two-seaters. Mansell will also have a demonstration drive in a recent F1 car.
To make the experience all the more realistic, Stoddart has plans to replicate a full F1-style pit-paddock area, which will be open to all spectators and will also have Murray Walker on hand to commentate on the race with regular ITV crew James Allen, Tony Jardine and Louise Goodman providing additional input and pit lane reporting.
“It should be a great day out for everybody,” Stoddart said.
“There will be that little extra bit of excitement, knowing that we’re making motorsport history by staging the first-ever Formula One two-seater race. Ever since we instigated the F1x2 programme in 1999, we’ve dreamt of staging such an event.
