Robert Doornbos' deal with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing marks the return for the Dutchman to American open wheel racing. After a promising 2007 season in Champ Car, Bobby D missed out on a deal for 2008. Now, the former Formula 1 driver is making his debut in the IRL alongside starlet Graham Rahal.
UF1: Robert, first of all congratulations on your deal with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. Could you explain to our readers how that deal came together?
Doornbos: Thank you, I'm really happy and proud about it. Basically, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and I had a history racing eachother in Champ Car where they were the favourites for the title and I was the underdog with Minardi Team USA. At one point, I started winning races and took the lead in the championship. Since then we got in contact with eachother and we kept in touch. We have a great mutual feeling about eachother and we knew we could win races together. Now we just have to work really hard to get competitive on the ovals as well.
UF1: These are obviously difficult times for everyone in the business from a financial point of view. A lot of great drivers like Wilson, Servia, Tracy and Hunter-Reay have got a lot of trouble finding a ride. Was it a difficult winter for you personally facing the uncertainty about 2009?
Doornbos: It's not the first difficult winter for a race car driver and it won't be the last, it's just a part of our job. It was a blow for me to miss out on a ride in 2008 after the great season we had in Champ Car. From that moment on, I fought really hard and gathered a new group of people around me with one sole purpose, racing in the 2009 IndyCar Series.
UF1: Did you have a plan B in case the Newman/Haas/Lanigan deal didn't work out?
Doornbos: I did receive a couple of other Indycar offers, but when the opportunity to work with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing comes around then that's an easy decision to make.
UF1: What were your thoughts about the IndyCar Series when you were still racing in Champ Car? Did you have a switch to the IRL in mind or would you have rather raced in Champ Car?
Doornbos: I wasn't really interested in the IRL because I was succesful in Champ Car and I enjoyed racing on the street and road courses. Of course I always silently dreamed of running the Indy 500, it's such a big race Champ Car doesn't have.
UF1: Did you have any IndyCar options when the series announced the unification?
Doornbos: Well, I had a deal with Minardi Team USA, but unfortunately the owners decided to pull the plug very late in the off-season. At that point I ran out of options and it didn't make sense to me to rush into a deal with a lower team.
UF1: You then went on to compete in the inaugural Superleague Formula championship and you did very well finishing third in the standings. Is such a series just a pastime when you're coming from Champ Car or were you just happy to get some seat time in a quick car?
Doornbos: What I did in 2008 requires a lot of character and determination. With all due respect, when you're coming from Formula 1 in 2006 and Champ Car in 2007, anything else is a step back. I got over it and tried to stay fit, make money and work on my future which had been compromised due to circumstances beyond my control. Superleague Formula is a great series with professional people. The cars were cool to race with and had a great engine. I really hope the series can continue and who knows I might compete in it again. Racing for AC Milan and working with my old Minardi engineers again really was a lot of fun.
UF1: Because of the economic crisis, the pay-driver phenomenon is even more a reality than before. How do you fit into that mould? Your Homestead car didn't feature any sponsors yet.
Doornbos: As a driver you try to become an ambassador for your sponsor, just look at Tony Kanaan's long-term relationship with 7-Eleven. It's three-way partnership between sponsors, driver and team where all parties want to get the best out of it. My management is still working very hard to find the right sponsors for our team and hopefully we'll be able to make an announcement really soon. At the moment, I'm focusing 100% on actually driving the car and adapting to working with Newman/Haas/Lanigan.
UF1: What's your take on a possible third car for Milka Duno at your team?
Doornbos: It's no secret a third car would be good for us, even though that would be quite tough in terms of personnel and logistics. More budget for the team means the car can be developed more quickly and all three drivers would benefit from that.
UF1: Obviously you're a rookie on ovals, how do you look back on that first taste you got at Homestead?
Doornbos: The first couple of laps were really stressful and I started wondering what I got myself into. But on the second run I was able to go flat out and I started to enjoy it more and more. I think that first oval race will be very exciting, I'm looking forward to it.
UF1: How long will it take to be competitive on ovals?
Doornbos: It really depends on how good the car is, as a driver you make less difference than on a road course. I'm confident my team will give me a good car, but we're not on the pace of Penske and Ganassi.
UF1: Whose door do you knock the most for advice?
Doornbos: That would be the oval master, fellow Dutchman Arie Luyendyk.
UF1: Did his victories in 1990 and 1997 get a lot of attention in the Netherlands?
Doornbos: When Arie won his first Indy 500 I was only 9 years old so I don't really know, but I suppose they did. When Arie quit the sport, the interest cooled down a lot. Since my time in Formula 1 and Champ Car, I have been pleasantly surprised by the support and interest of the Dutch race fans, so I think that's going to be great this year.
UF1: Speaking about Formula 1, I imagined you dreamed of a career in those cars as a young kid instead of Indycars.
Doornbos: Well there are only a couple of guys who get the chance to be in F1 and it was a dream come true for me to be there. I always said I want to be successful at the highest possible level, be it Formula 1 or Indycar. And I'm still dreaming, otherwise life would get boring, you know...
UF1: Aren't you still a bit disappointed that you're not active in F1 anymore?
Doornbos: My F1 career lasted two seasons of racing and testing and it was a period I will never forget. Those experiences helped me win races in Champ Car and hopefully in Indycar as well. But my options in F1 were limited to testing roles and I decided I want to race. It turns out I made the right call, because my move to American open wheel racing has been a succes and F1 test drivers are now bored to death with the new testing restrictions.
UF1: You're going to compete in the Indy 500 for the first time. Since you've raced in the States, I suppose you can imagine how big an event that is. Considering your experience in Homestead, are you getting goosbumps already when you think of what's coming in May? The Indy oval is another kettle of fish compared to Homestead.
Doornbos: I'm about to go through a couple of really exciting weeks and of course I'm dreaming of the Indy 500 which is the biggest race event in the world. But I'm taking one step at a time and I'm focusing on the Barber test next week and then the opening race at St. Pete.
UF1: One last question: If you had to choose between winning Indy and a random Formula 1 race, what would you choose? I asked Mikey Conway the same question and he gave a diplomatic response...
Doornbos: The Indy 500, hands down!
UpdateF1 would like to thank Robert for his time and his management GR8 Industries for their efforts to make this interview possible.
Filip Cleeren
Written by fc on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:10:32
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