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Superstars World set for Donington Park weekend

The SUPERSTARSWORLD is ready to be back on-track this weekend at the famed Donington Park venue in the UK. The 500+ horsepower engines of the SUPERSTARS and GTSPRINT cars will be back roaring tomorrow with the running of practice and qualifying.

The SUPERSTARS INTERNATIONAL SERIES will once again feature a top-flight challenge between the works-supported Mercedes C63 AMG of Thomas Biagi and the Audi RS5 of Gianni Morbidelli, fielded by Audi Sport Italia. The former F.1 driver trimmed his gap to the front to just three points and is now ready to fight for the overall lead. Vitantonio Liuzzi, also driving for Mercedes AMG Romeo Ferraris, is set to contend for the title alongside the top BMW man, Giovanni Berton. The Team BMW Dinamic driver will be racing for the first time at Donington and will have to watch his back from another up-and-rising talent, Luigi Ferrara. Fielded again by R.R.T. aboard a Mercedes C63 AMG Coupé, he has clearly no intentions to back down.

After leaving a good impression at Zolder, Domenico Schiattarella will be back in control of Solaris Motorsport's Chevrolet Lumina to partner Francesco Sini, driving on the Camaro model and eager to fight for the podium. The most awaited addition to the talent roster will be delivered by BMW though, as Ulsterman Colin Turkington, a world-renowned touringcar star and a former BTCC Champion, will be driving an M3 racer for Scuderia Giudici, the same previously campaigned by Christian Klien and Renaud Kuppens.

Donington will also feature the return of early SUPERSTARS racer Roberto Papini, driving a Mercedes C63 AMG for CAAL Racing. Corrado Canneori and his squad will duly retain the services of their full-time racer Andrea Bacci. More contenders are also set come from Team BMW Dinamic, lining-up Max Mugelli and Mauro Trentin, while Gianni Giudici (BMW M3 - Scuderia Giudici) and Francesco Ascani (BMW M3 - Todi Corse) are aiming to battle for the Star Drivers award. Lexus is also expected to make it back to the SUPERSTARS grid with Diego Romanini driving an ISF racer for MRT by Nocentini, and the same goes for Cadillac, with the return of the RC Motorsport-prepared CTS-V.

In GTSPRINT, the major duel will see Audi and Porsche involved. Lining-up as the championship leader will be German youngster Thomas Schöffler, back with Audi MTM. This time, he will be joined on his R8 LMS racecar by Audi manufacturer driver Oliver Jarvis, who ended up third in this season 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Glauco Solieri will be once again the key man for the Stuttgart manufacturer, and is set to attempt a rebound on the Autorlando Sport Porsche 997 R racer as he stands just three points off Schöffler's lead.

The German machinery is set to be challenged by the RC Motorsport Corvette Z06 R, driven by Roberto Del Castello and Piero Necchi, and by a full field of Ferraris. Two 458 Italia racers will be brought on-track by Ombra Racing Team for Cordoni-Mantovani and Croce-Beretta, while Team Ukraine will be doubling-up their operation. Andrii Kruglyk will be partnered by Raffaele Giammaria on one car, with Ruslan Tsyplakov will assume driving duties on the second one. Last but not least, Gianni Giudici will be back in the mix with a new Ginetta G50 GT4.

A lot of British fans are expected on the grandstands, but the series' supporters at home will also be able to follow the races thanks to a worldwide TV coverage plan including Motors TV in the UK and RAI SPORT 2 in Italy. Race 1 of SUPERSTARS will take-off on Sunday at 11:00 AM, followed by GTSPRINT Race 1 at 12:20. SUPERSTARS will then be back for Race 2 at 15:10, while GTSPRINT will round out the weekend at 17:25 (all times local).