Adding to the growing anticipation surrounding Paul Stoddart's Second Annual Auction of F1 Cars and Memorabilia, scheduled to take place on September 17 and 18, in Ledbury, the Minardi F1 Team today announces that drivers Robert Doornbos and Christijan Albers will make special guest appearances at the event, the former visiting on Saturday, and the latter on Sunday. They will sign autographs, chat with those present, and assist with auctioning the huge range of Formula One-related items that are available.

Following the success of last year's ground-breaking auction, this year's event will feature a range of new items, including official Minardi clothing, Tyrrell, Arrows, BAR and Benetton memorabilia, pit equipment and transportation vehicles. In addition, 22 modern-era Formula One cars from Minardi, BAR and Tyrrell will all go under the auctioneer's hammer during the course of the weekend. This will also mark the final opportunity to purchase the former Arrows F1 equipment in a public sale.

"The presence of Christijan and Robert at the auction will undoubtedly add further excitement and interest to the event," comments Minardi Team Principal, Paul Stoddart. "We're grateful that both drivers have given voluntarily of their time to be at Ledbury on what should be a weekend off for them between races, and I'm sure both F1 fans and participants in the auction will enjoy the opportunity of meeting Christijan and Robert in a relatively relaxed and informal environment."

Chris Hall, of auctioneers Bache Treharne, who developed the company's Webcast system that allows bidders from all over the world to participate on-line in the sale at the same time as those present at the Ledbury site, says, "It's clear from the huge number of enquiries we are receiving, particularly from outside the UK, that there is a great deal of interest in this Second Annual Auction. We are delighted with the way things are progressing, and look forward to what I am sure will be a very successful event."