Rob Nguyen

Rob Nguyen
Rob Nguyen
Nationality	Australian
Born	18 August 1980 (age 43); Brisbane, Queensland
Retired	2005
International Formula 3000
Years active	2002 – 2003
Teams	Team Astromega ; BCN Competición
Starts	15
Wins	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	13th in 2002
Previous series
2001; 2004	German Formula VW; Formula Holden 4000

Last updated April 13, 2024

Rob Nguyen (born 18 August 1980 in Brisbane ^{[ citation needed ]}) is an Australian racing car driver of Vietnamese descent who competed in the 2002 and part of the 2003 International Formula 3000 seasons before running out of money. He was noted for coming straight into F3000 after only nine previous car races in his life and was at one stage regarded as a potential major talent.^[1]^[2]

Career

Early career

After growing up in Australia, Nguyen was sent to the University of Lausanne, Switzerland to study Business in 2000. As a reward for his studies, his parents paid for him to have a test run in a Formula Opel car at an Austrian racing school run by Walter Penker. His first ever run in a racing car was impressive enough for Penker to invite him to take part in a full season of German Formula VW in 2001. Racing under a Swiss license, he finished fifth in the final championship standings, with two podium finishes and a pole position. Penker arranged a Formula 3000 test with the Team Astromega, and Nguyen was promptly signed for 2002.^[2]

Formula 3000

2002

Nguyen lined up for the first International Formula 3000 race of the 2002 season in Brazil for the Team Astromega only fifteen months after first sitting in a single-seater racing car and only nine races of the German Formula VW series behind him. Nevertheless, he proved a competent performer despite his lack of experience, finishing thirteenth on his début. He finished fifth in the sixth race of the season at the Nürburgring, scoring two points which remained his tally for his impressive first year. He was involved in a spectacular collision with Ricardo Mauricio at Monza, when the Brazilian driver hit the back of Nguyen's car and rolled before landing on its wheels and catching fire. However, he did set the fastest time at a test session on the same circuit in June of the same year, beating the times of eventual champion Sébastien Bourdais and other past and future Formula One drivers Tomáš Enge and Giorgio Pantano.^[3]

2003

Nguyen switched to rookie Spanish team BCN Competicion for the 2003 season. He finished eighth at Imola and fifth at Barcelona to score five points under the revised scoring system, but he could only manage thirteenth at the A1-Ring. By the next race, in Monaco, Nguyen had run out of funding and lost his drive with the team, to be replaced by Will Langhorne.^[4] There was no other deal available, and Nguyen was forced to drop out of the series. He appeared in a testing session at the end of the year with Coloni,^[5] but he did not race again.

Formula Holden

Nguyen returned to his home country in 2004 to race in the Australian Formula 4000 Holden series with Hocking Motorsport, finishing third in the championship with two wins, five podiums, a pole position and 82 points from the seven races in the series. He was again left without a drive in 2005, and now only races for sport.^[6]

Career summary

Season	Series	Position	Car	Team
2001	Formula Volkswagen Germany	5th	? - Volkswagen	Penker Racing
2002	International Formula 3000 season	13th	Lola B2/50 - Zytek	Team Astromega
2003	International Formula 3000 season	15th	Lola B2/50 - Zytek	BCN F3000
2004	Australian Drivers' Championship	3rd	Reynard 97D - Holden	Hocking Motorsport
2004	Australian Formula 4000	3rd	Reynard 97D - Holden	Hocking Motorsport
2011	World Time Attack Challenge - Open class	18th	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport
2012	World Time Attack Challenge	18th	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport
2012	Australian Japanese Nationals	1st	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport
2013	World Time Attack Challenge - Pro-Am class	6th	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport
2013	Australian Japanese Nationals	10th	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport
2014	World Time Attack Challenge - Pro-Am class	4th	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport
2014	Australian Japanese Nationals	1st	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport
2015	World Time Attack Challenge - Pro-Am class	3rd	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport
2016	World Time Attack Challenge - Pro-Am class	2nd	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport
2016	Australian Japanese Nationals	10th	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport
2017	World Time Attack Challenge - Pro-Am class	1st	Honda CRX	101 Motorsport

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	DC	Points
2002	Team Astromega	INT 13	IMO 11	CAT 14	A1R 9	MON Ret	NUR 5	SIL 15	MAG 11	HOC 11	HUN 10	SPA 15	MNZ Ret	13th	2
2003	BCN F3000	IMO 8	CAT 5	A1R 13	MON	NUR	MAG	SIL	HOC	HUN	MNZ			15th	5
Source:^[7]

Related Research Articles

Giorgio Pantano is an Italian professional racing driver who drove for the Jordan Formula One team for much of the 2004 season before being replaced by Timo Glock. He also raced in Formula 3000. He retired from racing at the end of 2014.

Alexander Charles Yoong Loong, is a Malaysian professional racing driver of Chinese and English parentage.

The 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It was the 55th FIA Formula One World Championship, and was contested over eighteen races from 7 March to 24 October 2004.

Michael Christopher Thackwell is a former racing driver from New Zealand, who participated in a number of prominent racing categories, including Formula 1. The sixth youngest driver ever to qualify for a Grand Prix, he participated in five of them, making his first start on 28 September 1980 at the Canadian Grand Prix. He scored no championship points. He had previously attempted unsuccessfully to qualify for the Dutch Grand Prix which was held on 31 August 1980.

Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi is an Italian professional racing driver who formerly raced in Formula One for the Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT teams.

Robert Michael Doornbos is a Dutch former racing driver who also competed with a Monégasque licence. He has been test and third driver for the Jordan and Red Bull Racing Formula One teams, as well as driving for Minardi and Red Bull Racing in 2005 and 2006. Doornbos then drove for Minardi Team USA in the 2007 and final season of the Champ Car World Series. He competed in the Superleague Formula racing series in 2008, and drove for the Netherlands team in A1 Grand Prix's 2008–2009 season. In 2009, Doornbos competed in the IndyCar Series. He began the season with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, but switched to HVM Racing after the race in Kentucky Speedway.

Darren Manning is a British motor racing driver who has raced in the IRL IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Ocean Racing Technology (ORT) was a racing team that took part in both the GP2 Main Series and the GP2 Asia Series Championships. The team, owned by Tiago Monteiro and José Guedes, was formed at the end of the 2008 season after being purchased from BCN Competición, a team which never enjoyed much success in GP2. The driver and the entrepreneur created a structure based on recognized professionals and quickly started to secure first-class results, making it possible for the Portuguese Racing team to fight with the more advanced teams in the FIA accredited championship that is the main feeder series for Formula One.

Jordi Gené Guerrero is a racing driver who competed in the World Touring Car Championship between 2005 and 2010. His younger brother, Marc is also a ex-racing driver and is currently a Brand Ambassador for the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team.

Tom Romeo Coronel is a Dutch professional racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr. His most important results are winning the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 race in 1997, the Formula Nippon championship in 1999, and the 2006 and 2009 World Touring Car Championship Independents' Trophy. As of September 2016, Tom Coronel has driven over 1,000 races.

Derek John Hill is an American racing driver. He is the son of 1961 Formula One World Champion Phil Hill.

Rodrigo Sperafico is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He currently drives in the Stock Car Brasil series. He belongs to the Sperafico family of racing drivers, which includes twin brother Ricardo, along with cousins Alexandre and the late Rafael.

Michael Caruso is an Australian professional motor racing driver. Caruso competes in the Pirtek Enduro Cup, co-driving a Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 for Team 18 alongside Mark Winterbottom.

Luiz Tadeu Razia Filho is a Brazilian businessman and former racing driver.

James Jakes is a British racing driver.

Esteban Manuel Gutiérrez Gutiérrez is a Mexican racing driver currently competing in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship for Glickenhaus Racing and the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship for CrowdStrike Racing by APR. He is also a development driver for Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.

Ómar Julián Leal Covelli, commonly known as Julián Leal, is a professional racing driver from Colombia. He has also competed with an Italian licence in the GP2 Series.

Dino Morelli, is a former racing driver who competed sporadically in Formula 3000 between 1995 and 2001.

Ricardo Maurício is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently drives in the Stock Car Brasil series, which he won in 2008, 2013 and 2020. Prior to this he raced in several European single-seater formulae, winning the Spanish Formula Three Championship and recording podium finishes in International Formula 3000.

William Bratt is a British racing driver. He previously competed in the British Touring Car Championship with Rob Austin Racing.

References

↑ "The stars of tomorrow". Grandprix.com. 26 July 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
1 2 "Fairytales". Grandprix.com. 1 February 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
↑ "Nguyen wows them again". Grandprix.com. 19 June 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
↑ "Langhorne joins Formula 3000 trail". Grandprix.com. 30 May 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
↑ "Nguyen back in Formula 3000". Grandprix.com. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
↑ Jenkins, Richard. "The Formula 3000 drivers - Where are they now?". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 8 January 2007.
↑ "Rob Nguyen". Motor Sport. Retrieved 17 September 2021.

"Career statistics". driverdb.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2007.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "The stars of tomorrow". Grandprix.com. 26 July 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2007.

[The_Mole-2] 1 2 "Fairytales". Grandprix.com. 1 February 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2007.

[3] "Nguyen wows them again". Grandprix.com. 19 June 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2007.

[4] "Langhorne joins Formula 3000 trail". Grandprix.com. 30 May 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2007.

[5] "Nguyen back in Formula 3000". Grandprix.com. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2007.

[6] Jenkins, Richard. "The Formula 3000 drivers - Where are they now?". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 8 January 2007.

[7] "Rob Nguyen". Motor Sport. Retrieved 17 September 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]