Minardi manager wants '06 drivers

Several names have been linked to the team since Paul Stoddart bought a majority stake in the squad last month, but Kremer is optimistic that Nelson Philippe and Dan Clarke will be retained.

"We had a very successful 2006," Kremer told the official Champ Car website, "and I'm pretty stoked because hopefully we'll have both of our drivers back in the cars for this year."

Philippe scored his maiden Champ Car victory towards the end of the year at Surfers Paradise, while the highlights of Clarke's rookie season were a pole position at Road America and a podium finish at Denver.

"Dan is a very aggressive racer," Kremer added. "He showed a lot of promise last year and he drove hard through the field.

"And our hats our off to Nelson, because he stepped up and did everything we asked him to do and more.

"His teammate was inexperienced in this series so Nelson pretty much led the team. That's a hard role for a 19 or 20-year-old, but a lot of our success is based on his dedication."

Stoddart has said that the renamed team will expand to three cars for this season, but no announcements regarding drivers have been made yet.