Preview: 2011 Superstars International Series
The Superstars Series kicks off in Monza this weekend, after a very intense build-up to the season. After many pre-season rumours concerning the entry list, FG Group have released the details in a press conference held yesterday in Milan to present the season.
Ten marques have been confirmed by the organization of the series: Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Jaguar, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes and Porsche will all compete to fight for the 2011 title. Former Chevrolet driver Johnny Herbert will again compete in the series, switching to a Romeo Ferraris-run Mercedes C63 AMG, teaming up with Max Pigoli. The Romeo Ferraris team will try and to take the crown from 2010 champion Thomas Biagi, who will continue with a BMW M3 E92 prepared by ROAL Motorsport, running as Team BMW Italia.
Campos Racing will make its debut in the championship, also fielding a pair of M3s . Although Félix Porteiro had announced he would be participating with the Spanish outfit, the team made a last minute announcement that 2010 WTCC independents’ champion Sergio Hernàndez would in fact be driving for the team in Monza, with Turkish driver Isaac Tutumlu signed on as his team-mate.
One of the most interesting new cars for the 2011 season is the all-new Lexus ISF. MN Motorsport’s car will be driven by Diego Romanini, who has a long experience in the Superstars Series. The Maserati Quattroporte, with Andrea Chiesa behind the wheel, proved to be very strong during pre-season testing and could be a very serious championship contender.
Former Le Mans Series driver Francesco Sini will also be a front-runner, switching from Mercedes to Ferlito Motors’ Jaguar XF. The 2008 Radical European Master Series champion was third fastest in the first official Superstars Series test, and skipped last week’s Monza tests in order to work on preparing his car for the season premiere.
The variety of manufacturers competing and the quality of the drivers make the Superstars Series one of the most competitive championships in Europe, as testified with the interest of Chevrolet Motorsport manager Eric Néve, who wanted Italian-Russian rookie Alessandro Kouzkin to take part in the series with Motorzone’s Chevrolet Lumina.
After the season opener in the series’ home country of Italy, the Superstars Series will continue on to the Valencia track in Spain, and then to Portugal at the Portimao circuit.
This season the Superstars Series will also be broadcast live or as-live on MotorsTV throughout Europe.
This weekend’s races from Monza will be shown live at 10:30 and 15:30 BST on MotorsTV UK (Sky Channel 413 and Virgin Media 545) and on MotorsTV Europe at 11:30 CET and 16:30 CET.
