Autosportfoto

Superstars set for this weekend's 2013 opener at Monza

The SUPERSTARS INTERNATIONAL SERIES is finally ready to be back on-track this weekend at Monza, as the fast northern Italian circuit is hosting the championship's traditional season opener. The SWR-promoted series will be celebrating its first ten years, a successful run that established it as one of the benchmark racing competitions at international level.

Nine car brands will join the grids this season including Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes and Porsche, for a grand total of 13 different models involved in an high-quality challenge between top drivers. Each round will feature two, 25-minute + 1 lap races with rolling starts while five titles will be awarded including the Italian and International titles for drivers, the "Salvatore Genovese" trophy for the best team plus the "Rookie of the Year" and the "Star Drivers" titles.

The 2013 season will feature the return for his second SUPERSTARS run of former F.1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi, who will be driving for the Mercedes-AMG backed Team Romeo Ferraris alongside quick Thomas Biagi. They will be relying on the Stuttgart manufacturer's 500-horsepower C63 AMG machinery. Among their major rivals will be the Audi Sport Italia Audi RS5 of multiple SUPERSTARS champion Gianni Morbidelli, who will be partnered by Ferdinando Geri and young German Thomas Schöffler.

Reigning Champion Johan Kristoffersson will be once again a tough contender for everybody else after moving to the Petri Corse Porsche camp. He will be in control of the returning Porsche Panamera S, a car that stunned the whole field at its 2010 debut. Another Panamera will be driven by Massimiliano Fantini. The BMW field will be well represented by Team BMW Dinamic featuring Giovanni Berton, Max Mugelli and Mauro Trentin aboard three BMW M3 E92.

The Solaris Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro is set to be a major hit throughout the weekend with Francesco Sini, who performed great in last week's collective SUPERSTARS test at Monza. Roma Racing Team will also be on-track with their new Mercedes C63 AMG Coupé. Luigi Ferrara will be behind the wheel while Nico Caldarola will focus on management duties. The RC Motorsport Cadillac won't miss a beat with Roberto Benedetti, coming back to SUPERSTARS after a GTSPRINT stint on the Corvette. More German-powered contenders will come from the team with the most starts in the series, Caal Racing. They will bring on-track two Mercedes C63 AMG racers for Andrea Bacci and Leonardo Baccarelli, while the driver with the most starts, Francesco Ascani, will be back aboard a Todi-prepared BMW M3.

Completing the series' field will be the MRT Lexus IS F of Alessandro Battaglin, two Jaguar XFR racers driven by Andrea Larini and "Diabolik" for Ferlito Motors and the BMW M3 of Gianni Giudici.

Fans will be able to access the Monza grandstands free of charge thanks to the FREE TICKET campaign. The initiative started in 2010 and brought on-track a record crowd of 31.000 fans last season. Signups are still open at www.superstarsworld.com. For the fans at home, SUPERSTARSWORLD will again provide a widespread live TV coverage. Race 1 will be taking-off on Sunday, April the 7th at 12.00, followed by Race 2 later in the afternoon at 16.10.