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Minardi have signed Slovakian unknown Jirko Malcharek as a test driver.

Minardi released a statement saying that they have signed the 35-year-old after he completed a successful test at Vairano last week.

The statement says Malcharek has experience in touring cars, the Porsche Supercup and the FIA GT championship but he has never been a frontrunner in any of these comparatively minor series.

Malcharek will have come with sponsorship cash or else team boss Paul Stoddart would not have signed a driver with such little pedigree. The deal is a further sign that Minardi’s finances are in dire straits.

Stoddart warned last week that the team may struggle to finish the season unless they are paid the prize money they are owed. The dispute with the Phoenix organisation over its right to enter F1 has been dragging through the courts and has stopped Minardi from being paid travel money, according to Stoddart.

Malcharek will concentrate on aerodynamic work in his testing for Minardi. Team founder Giancarlo Minardi said: "He is fully dedicated to the role and impressed the team's engineers with his technical feedback at the recent Vairano test.

"An added bonus is that his height, weight and body proportions are similar to those of Mark Webber. We look forward to working with Jirko."

bron: www.itv-f1.com