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Congratulations on your first win as Minardi in the Euro F30000!
Can you put into words the feeling in the garage and at the
factory
that afternoon?
“We
hadn’t felt such a huge joy for 25 years. And for me it was a
special joy, because I gave this victory back to my father”.
What was it like to be at Silverstone not only with your Team
but
with PLM competing as well?
”Pierluigi brought good luck to us, it was nice to have him
there”
You grew up in a racing family. You were ten or eleven when
Minardi F1 began. Where you involved with the Team as a child or
young man?
”Actually Minardi’s adventure began when I was born. I started
working for the team when I was 11, in summer, during the
vacation from school. I did everything, gommista (tyres),
carrozziere (chassis), centralinista (answering the telephone)
and so on. But for me that was not a job, it was a summer fun”
You then cut your teeth as a grown man first with Iveco and
then
straight into F1.
”I did want to have a job experience all by myself, that’s why I
worked for Iveco as a seller for 3 years”.
You
left the Minardi F1 Team after the 2000 season to start GP
Group. What was the motivation at that time as well as your
goals
for short and long term?
”I left Minardi in 2002. Unfortunately I didn’t have a good
feeling with Paul Stoddart, we had some different points of
view. And I didn’t mean to create other problems to my father,
since he had his already”.
Driver management seems to be a
considerable portion of your business
life.
“I help some drivers. Well, actually,
I have to say we help some drivers, since I do it with my
father”.
Is there a particular driver(s) you have your eye on?
”Now we’re pushing Davide Rigon, he made his first race with us
in Barcelona and he behaved well”.
If a
suitable American driver was available would you consider giving
him a chance either on your Team or as a managed driver?
”We look around everywhere, but, of course, we’re happier when
we can help an Italian. After Fisichella and Trulli there hasn’t
been a successful Italian driver in Formula One. The USA is a
little far away, it’s not easy to follow those drivers”.
Gian Carlo Minardi´s exit from the F1 world was a surprise to
us.
We thought that he would be retained - or at least given the
opportunity - to help guide the Toro Rosso Team. Was this a
surprise to you?
”Yes, it was. He had passed through other changes of ownership
of the team and he had always stayed in. I didn’t expect he was
going to be out. He preferred to go by himself before they sent
him away”.
How
did the idea for him to join your organization come to be?
”It was an idea of mine. Dad needed a push. This sport is life
for him. I asked him to join the team. At first he was not sure,
but then when he did join it was a nice thing”.
Veggiano is a considerable distance from your home Faenza. What
prompted the placement of the factory there?
”Yes it’s not the most comfortable thing for me. But we found
people who could invest some money in that area”
Do you
travel there daily or can you telecommute for a portion of
your work?
”Daily?
Well, I should live in my car… I go there twice a week and I
work a lot at home, with telephone and email”
What
is a typical day at the factory for you and the Team?
”When I’m there, I work ten hours, spending 7 and a half of them
in meetings, talking to everyone there”.
What
is GCM´s involvement in the Team? Is it on a daily basis as
well?
”Not always. It depends on the subjects we talk about. When we
talk about organizing he is very useful”.
Gian Carlo Minardi once said something to the effect that
Italian
industrial/business sponsors were like dinosaurs.... Extinct.
The
Team seems to have unearthed some. Is there a resurgence of
interest
by Italian business in open wheel racing or there is only
Ferrari?
”You said it! Ferrari monopolized everything, also because
of Montezemolo’s charge*. To find sponsors in Italy is
almost impossible. The team group invested a lot”.
Has obtaining sponsorship been easier by the name change and
the
involvement of Gian Carlo Minardi?
”It helped. The Minardi name is still quiet appreciated. But
more abroad than in Italy. Now, for instance, we’re reaching
some good agreements with Spanish sponsors”.
What budget is required to run a Euro F3000 car?
”Say 400-450 thousands euros a year”.
Do you intend to stay in the Euro F3000 series for any
particular
length of time or plan on making a move to GP2?
”We want to grow up. Of course today is not realistic to
think of Formula One, unless thing don’t change there. GP2 is a
step we’re thinking of”.**
Is any
of the hardware or components of the cars made by Minardi
personnel?
”No, everything is monomarca (only one producer). You make
components by yourself only in F1 and F3”.
Some people say that the current version of the Minardi team
really
is not the "Minardi" Team. How do you respond to that?
”Well, it’s not the Minardi team, because we don’t own it.
But we had an old partnership with this team, it was already a
kind of junior team of Minardi years ago”.
What is Gian Carlo Minardi´s greatest quality?
”You’re asking the wrong person. I guess my father’s quality is
also his weak point: he’s too good for this world where everyone
thinks only of his own interests”.
How much support are you getting from the Minardi Clubs?
”The club of San Francisco is amazing. I’m really impressed.
They are so active and enthusiastic.
I hope
that in Vallelunga the Italian clubs will be there as well. So
far we hadn’t seen them”.
How important is that to you and the rest of the Team?
”The clubs’ support is very pleasing for us. Our tifosi’s
affection is what push us to go straight on, especially when you
had to make a step back like we did”.
*Montezemolo
is also president of Confindustria, the Italian trade union of
enterprises.
**(Minardi in GP2 wasn’t still official when we talked but is
on for 2007!)
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