Having previously performed demonstrations in cities including London, Johannesburg and Budapest, the Minardi F1x2 will create history on 21 September with a display in Sofia.

The car will take to a specially constructed street course in the Bulgarian capital marking the first time that a Formula One based machine will have taken part in an event on the Balkan Peninsula.

After completing the opening day of the programme, the F1x2 Team will move to the nearby Bojurishte airfield for the following three days, where it will headline the inaugural Bulgarian Festival of Speed. The experienced Minardi two-seater crew has arranged for a pair of chassis to be transported to Bulgaria, one to be used for display purposes, and the other to be driven by F1x2 regular Zsolt Baumgartner, who will provide passenger rides to more than 60 people over the course of the event.

“We're very excited at the prospect of appearing in Bulgaria, and giving a brand-new audience the opportunity to see and hear a modern F1 car in action,” team owner, Paul Stoddart said. “Over the past six years, the Minardi F1x2 cars have visited twelve countries and provided well over 2,000 passengers with a never-to-be-forgotten experience, so there was not the slightest hesitation when we were approached about staging a programme in Bulgaria.

“There is clearly a growing interest in motorsport in the Balkans, and this sort of activity fits in perfectly with the Minardi F1x2 team's ethos of making Formula One more accessible to the fans. It is a great honour to be invited to Bulgaria, and we are definitely looking forward to the event.”