Stoddart Proposes 'Celebrity Grand Prix'

Minardi team boss Paul Stoddart is proposing to run a Celebrity Grand Prix with his two-seater cars during race weekends next season to improve the spectacle for spectators.

Speaking after a meeting of team bosses at the French Grand Prix, Stoddart said that he had made his idea known with the plan to run a championship and increase action on the Sunday morning of an event.

At present fans get to see only a Porsche Super Cup race before the actual Grand Prix gets underway, but Stoddart sees the Celebrity Grand Prix as a major draw to bring spectators to the tracks after the Nurburgring saw a drop of 30,000 in race day spectator figures.

"We are aware that there isn't much for people to come to on Sunday," Stoddart said. "We've got to look after the people who look after us. The day we forget the viewers, the listeners, the punters who come to the races we are in trouble.

"It was proposed to run the Celebrity Grand Prix with the two-seaters on a Sunday morning.

"We all have fantastic celebrities at these races and imagine if we all had a two-seater painted in their colours with their sponsors, their test driver or previous driver driving the car in a short race, 12 laps or so, grid formation when you have stars at the race.

"It gets everyone involved and at the end of the year you would have the Celebrity Grand Prix championship which could be won by a Jordan or a Minardi because the cars are equal."

Stoddart said the 10 teams on the grid could paint two-seaters in their own colours and have test drivers or former drivers behind the wheel in a championship.

He added that the celebrity guests of teams and sponsors would take to the track and said it will be a "fantastic thing" to see footballer Ronaldo or pop singer Kylie Minogue in the cars.

"It would be a fantastic thing for the spectacle of Formula One," Stoddart added. "We could have anyone - Ronaldo, Kylie, anyone. The prospects are endless.

"You've got a fantastic star attraction on Sunday morning and haven't used up any of your mileage for the single engine. I think some of the money raised should go to charity. It might be Celebrity Charity Grand Prix or something."