Stoddart realized his dream to become a Formula One team owner when Minardi shareholder Gabriele Rumi sold out to him shortly before the season began. Under Stoddart, the team struggled from 2001 to , remaining a perennial backmarker due to its shortage of lucrative sponsorship. Stoddart almost sold European Aviation at the end of 2002 and Wilux became Minardi's title sponsor. Longtime Minardi sporting director John Walton died on the eve of the 2004 British Grand Prix; the team ran a sponsor-free tribute livery for that race, but Wilux subsequently ended its sponsorship, stating that they would rather have been informed beforehand. A lack of sponsorship once again left Minardi's future very much in doubt. For most of what would turn out to be Minardi's final season on the grid, the black cars were emblazoned with OzJet, a three aircraft Boeing 737-200 business class only airline in Australia owned by Stoddart, that flew for a few months but is now operating as a Charter service. On 12 September 2005, Stoddart announced that he had sold his team to Red Bull Racing owner Dietrich Mateschitz who subsequently rebranded the team as Toro Rosso.