Paul Stoddart’s plans for a Champ Car team in 2007 are moving ahead, according to reports in Holland.
The Australian entrepreneur, who sold his Minardi team to energy drink Red Bull last year, is looking into the possible American project with the backing of former F1 sponsor Harry Muermans.
”Stoddart and I recently met in London with (Champ Car chief) Kevin Kalkhoven,” Muermans revealed to ‘Formule 1 RaceReport’ magazine.
He suggested that, with Stoddart’s existing F1 assets, ‘we have everything necessary’ to form a team for the American open-wheeler series, ‘except the cars, which is not a problem’.
Stoddart is understood to have set a deadline of October to have everything set up for 2007.
Muermans, however, insists that he is presently more focused on sorting out his other venture for 2007 — the formula one career of Robert Doornbos.
”That is still priority number one,” Muermans, sponsor of the current Red Bull Racing test driver, said.
But Stoddart revealed last month that Doornbos would be on his ‘list’ of potential drivers for the Champ Car team, along with another former Minardi driver, Zsolt Baumgartner. gmmf1dailyf1news.com
