Toccacelo gets Minardi third driver role

Minardi announced on August 11th that Enrico Toccacelo is to be the team's third and reserve driver, starting from next weekend's Turkish Grand Prix. The 26 year-old Italian competes this season in the World Series by Renault with Victory Engineering and has taken five victories so far.

Enrico Toccacelo.

Photo by Fabrice Crosnier.

"This is a great opportunity for me, although it has all come together so quickly, I still can't quite believe it," said Toccacelo. "This is, however, the moment that all young racing drivers are working towards, and I am determined to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can, while doing the best possible job for the team."

"Minardi has shown many times that it is an excellent place for a driver to start his Formula One career, and I intend to make the most of this opportunity."

After racing in Italian F3 in the late nineties, Toccacelo moved to German F3 in 2000 and in 2001 he competed in various formulae, including touring cars and International F3000. From 2002 to 2004 he raced in F3000 and was runner-up last year.

"We are very pleased to have Enrico join us as official Friday test driver," said Minardi team principal Paul Stoddart. "He has a strong track record in a number of formulae, and this will be an excellent way for him to begin to get to grips with Formula One."

"I'm equally sure he will soon be able to start providing useful data to the team's technical staff. The Minardi Cosworth PS05 has already shown that it has considerable potential, and I'm sure the inclusion of Enrico in our driver line-up will help to accelerate the development process."