| www.motorsport.co.za | 03 September 2010 |
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Seventeen racing V8 production cars were off loaded at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit this morning in preparation for Saturday’s final round of the international Superstars Series. The winged BMWs, Mercedes AMG, Audis, Chevrolet Lumina, Chrysler, Jaguar and Maserati will be driven by 15 Italians and a driver each from Monaco and San Marino. They include three former Formula 1 drivers and a former Olympic skier.The Superstars Series will be making its first appearance outside Europe and the Kyalami round marks the series finale for 2009. Gianni Morbidelli, 41, heads the foreign entry in a ROAL Motorsport BMW M3. He wrapped up his third successive Superstars Series championship with his sixth win of the year at the penultimate round in Monza, Italy, in October. He was an F1 driver for Minardi, Ferrari, Footwork and Sauber between 1990 and 1997. Pierluigi Martini, 48, will be seen at the wheel of a Zakspeed Team Chrysler 300C SRT-8. He is a former European Formula 3 champion (in 1983 in a Ralt), drove for the Toleman, Minardi and BMS Dallara F1 teams (1984 to 1995) and won the Le Mans 24 Hours in a BMW V12 LMR in 1999. He has three Superstars wins to his credit this season and is fifth in the championship. Andrea Chiesa, 45, who drove for the Fondmetal F1 team in 1992, is in a Swiss Team Maserati Quattroporte and is 14th in the current championship standings. Kristian Ghedina, 40, who drives a BMW 550i for the Movisport Team, is a former Olympic skier. He has raced in Formula 3000, Italian Super Touring Cars and Porsche Super Cup and was runner-up in the 2008 Superstars Series. He is currently sixth in the championship with one race win. Italian Max Pigoli, 51, heads the rest of the visitors in his own team’s Mercedes C63 AMG and has two wins under his belt so far this season. He was the 2006 Superstars Series champion in a Jaguar S-Type R and is a former Italian GT champion (in 2004) and Super Touring champion (1997). Roberto Papini, 44, will make his Kyalami debut in a CAAL Racing BMW M5. He is a former Ferrari Challenge driver in an F360. There are 10 BMWs in the field (three M3s, five M5s and two 550is), two Audi Rs4s, a Jaguar XF SV8, a Mercedes C63 AMG, a Chevrolet Lumina, a Chrysler 300C SRT-8 and a Maserati Quattroporte. The Superstars Series race weekend programme will include a free practice on Saturday from 11h00 to 11h30 and qualifying from 15h00 to 15h30. There will be two 25-minute plus one lap races on Sunday at 11h30 and 15h00. Also on the programme are races for Superkarts, Goldwagen Challenge, Forza Ferrari Challenge and SA Motorcycle.com Invitational. Parking will be available at Kyalami as per national race meetings and while spectators will be able to bring their own food and drinks, no glass bottles or braais will be allowed. Grandstand and general admission tickets, as well as pit walk tickets at R20 each, can be obtained from branches of Computicket around the country or at www.computicket.com. For further information, please go to www.kyalamiracing.co.za. High resolution images may be downloaded from www.superstars.it or www.motorpics.co.za. For further information please visit www.superstars.it or contact: Peter Burroughes Tel. 082 899 0101 bowtie@iafrica.com |
