On August 21, 2001, at the 'Thunder In The Park' family event at Donington Park. Five two-seater F1 cars are being transported to the circuit, four in Minardi colors and one painted red. For this race, Stoddart is driving a car himself, alongside 2001 Minardi drivers Fernando Alonso and Tarso Marques, as well as rookie Alex Yoong. Nigel Mansell, former F1 world champion in 1992, completes the team, having agreed to drive the Minardi two-seater for several events. This unique race reflects the daring spirit of Stoddart, who seeks to bring F1 to life from a different and spectacular angle.
“It should be a great day for everyone”, declared Paul Stoddart at the time. “There will be that extra bit of excitement knowing that we are making motorsport history by hosting the first ever two-seater Formula 1 race.”
However, everything did not go as planned…
For this rather special race at Donington Park, each driver of the Minardi two-seater team had a famous passenger on board: Yoong was riding with BBC Sport journalist Desmond Kelly. Marques was paired with Shane Lynch of Boyzone. For his part, Alonso rode with F1 presenter Louise Goodman, and finally Mansell with entrepreneur Jonathan Frost. The most surprising guest was Kelis, then famous for his music, who teamed up with Paul Stoddart.
The day took an unexpected turn for two reasons, the first because Kelis and Stoddart won and the second because Alonso was hit by Nigel Mansell. As Mansell attempted to overtake Alonso in the final corner, late braking caused a spectacular collision: Mansell's car went airborne after colliding with the rear of Alonso's car, losing a wheel and sustaining significant damage. . Taking advantage of this chaos, Stoddart maneuvered off-road to cross the finish line and win with Kelis at his side.
Fortunately, no one was injured, but Mansell, world champion in 1992, emerged from his crashed F1 car disconcerted. This unique event offered spectators a daring and spectacular version of Formula 1, reflecting Stoddart's adventurous spirit.
