PS:
It was absolutely standing room only in Holland! I think we are going to have two really good events. With the way it is at the moment, people who want to buy tickets had better buy them soon, because the Dutch do love their motor racing and having two races in Europe one week after the other means we are going to see some pretty serious crowds. Obviously from my own personal point-of-view we’ve had a third and a second now, so the next thing we are aiming for is a win, and wouldn’t it be great if Robert Doornbos could win in Holland?
Q:
How much more popular do you think Robert has made Champ Car racing in Holland now?
PS:
The Dutch obviously love their motorsport, but you have to go back to 1994 and Jos Verstappen in the Benetton to find a Dutch driver at world championship level actually getting podiums. I think looking at the crowd cheering Robert on and the people coming onto the website, Robert’s success has raised the profile quite a bit. The Dutch love a hero – especially a Dutch hero – and now they have one in Robert, who is actually a contender for race wins.
Q:
The official title of the championship is the Champ Car World Series, but until now it has been predominantly North American-based. How important is it to spread the series across Europe?
PS:
It’s very important, and not only in Europe. To be called a world series, you have to be competing in all the major markets in the world. Champ Cars race in China, they have very well-supported events in Australia and Mexico, there are a lot of Canadian rounds coming up too and now two in Europe. Hopefully we will have three or four in Europe in the next couple of years; certainly we are looking at running a third one next year. We have a lot of European drivers taking part too. I think we are going to see the Champ Car World Series as exactly what it says – a worldwide, global series that’s gaining in popularity.
Q:
So it’s onwards and upwards from here?
PS:
I think so. There’s always room for improvement and the management know that, but they are serious about looking at things they can improve. I think we will see year-on-year growth, which is all we can expect.
