Paul Stoddart

Paul Stoddart , born the May 26th 1955 with Melbourne, is a contractor Australia N. It is especially known to have directed Minardi, a former team of Formule 1, of 2001 with 2005. Since 2007, it directs the stable Minardi TEAM the USA in the series Champ Because to the United States.

Biography

After having worked in the trade of car, Paul Stoddart acquires in 1989 near the Australian government several planes which he hopes to resell to carry out an appreciation. In front of the failure of the operation, it decides to make profitable its small fleet to create an airline company, at the origin intended to transport the amateurs of play in Tasmanie, the only State of Australia where this activity is authorized. Quickly, Stoddart extends its activity in England, where it founds " European Aviation" , a company charter at low prices which allows him to make fortune.

Impassioned automobile sport (in Australia, it controlled on a modest level in local competitions), Stoddart acquires in the 1996 several old single-seaters of Formula 1, qu ' it engages successfully (under the banner of European Formula Racing) in the championship Formula Boss, a series reserved for old F1 and which brings together primarily fortunate amateurs. In 1997, it also makes its appearance in the world of F1 while becoming the sponsor (via European Aviation) of the stable Tyrrell Racing. Its increasingly close links with Tyrrell are broken in 1998 when the team is repurchased by Craig Pollock and British American Tobacco.

In 1999, Paul Stoddart decides to launch his own stable of F3000, by repurchasing the Edenbridge team. After a first modest season under the name " European Edenbridge" , Stoddart crosses a stage in 2000 by being combined with the stable of Formula 1 Arrows to become about it the sponsor in F1 and the TEAM Junior in F3000. This year, the team European Racing aligns aligns two great hopes of the world automobile sport: the Netherlander Christijan Albers and especially its compatriot Mark Webber, who affirms themselves like the great revelation of the season.

At the beginning of 2001, Stoddart separates from Arrows and gives up F3000 to reach Formula 1, by repurchasing the Italian stable Scuderia Minardi with Gabriele Rumi. Under its direction, Minardi remains the smallest team of the plate, and continuous to test the worst difficulties of buckling its budget. But in spite of the need for Minardi for calling upon paying pilots, Stoddart manages to continue the policy of its predecessors while making it possible promising pilots to begin, like Fernando Alonso in 2001, Mark Webber in 2002, Justin Wilson in 2003 or Christijan Albers 2005. Sportivement, more the great moment of Stoddart to the head of Minardi remains probably the fifth place of Webber Mark to GP of Australia 2002. With the complicity of official, it makes a distorsion with the protocol while going up on the podium (after the " vrais" winners) in company of Webber to sand champagne in front of a public very won over to its cause.

But the five years of Stoddart to the head of Minardi are especially remembered by its " activity; politique". Car-proclaimed spokesperson of the disinherited stables, it does not have of cease to act to obtain a better redistribution of the trading profits of F1 to the stables, as well as a fall of the operating costs (via the obligation made to the large manufacturers provide engines at low prices). True " activiste" bed, it goes until trailing the TRUSTED in front of civil justice, to protest against a technical change of regulation (unfavourable in Minardi because involving new expenditure).

At the conclusion of the season 2005, noting that it is not able to guarantee the survival of the team, it resells Minardi with the Austrian financier Dietrich Mateschitz, propriéraire of Red Bull, which renames the team Scuderia Toro Rosso.

In 2006, Stoddart tries a return Formulates 1 of them while standing as a candidate with obtaining the 12th ticket of entry for the championship of the world the 2008. place will return finally to David Richards and Prodrive.

It is finally in Champ Because which it carries out its return to the competition since in December 2006, it repurchases stable CTE-HVM Racing, to found Minardi TEAM the USA.

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