Rob Nguyen
| Rob Nguyen | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |
 Australian |
| Born |
18 August 1980  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 |
Rob Nguyen (born 18 August 1980 in Brisbane) 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.
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.
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.
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