Superleague Formula's Turkish club Galatasaray SK, has joined forces with leading Italian motorsport team Scuderia Playteam Sarafree for its 2008 championship assault.
Fresh from factory-backed campaigns in the FIA GT Championship and International GT Open in 2007, the Italian squad will represent Galatasaray SK in the 750 horsepower V12-powered single seater championship that will debut to debut in August this year.
"After long discussions and several working meetings in Istanbul, my dream has progressed. Scuderia Playteam is now ready to join this unique Superleague championship with a great partner: Galatasaray SK,” said Giambattista Giannoccaro, owner and founder of Scuderia Playteam.
Scuderia Playteam invited a number of leading drivers from various racing series to test Formula 3000 single seater cars at Vallelunga, near Rome (Italy), from February 4-6 in preparation for the team's new upcoming Superleague Formula challenge.
Amongst them was the young F3000 Euroseries champion Davide Rigon; Marco Bonanomi, who currently competes in the GP2 Asia Series with Piquet Racing; Giacomo Ricci, 2006 European F3000 champion and Alessandro Pier Guidi who a Maserati MC12 for Playteam in the FIA GT Championship.
Portuguese Filipe Albuquerque, Frenchman Bruce Jouanny plus Galatasaray fan and Turkish local hero Jason Tahinci also joined them - recording plenty of mileage aboard Formula 3000 machinery while logging competitive lap times to prepare for this innovative formula.
“We are finalizing contracts with drivers and are convinced of being able to be ready to produce a high level great race weekend entertainment package for spectators around Europe," Giannoccaro said.
"I’m sure the Galatasaray SK fans will closely follow the launch of our Superleague Formula, and cheer for us in the competition. I love excellent football. Galatasaray SK is one of the best football clubs to come to the race track, and at Scuderia Playteam we are putting together the best racing resources.
"The entire grid of this new Formula is filling up and I can foresee it will be a tough and high level competition. We will be ready for the first race scheduled to kick off at Donington Park in England in August 2008.”
Galatasaray's entry into the Superleague Formula championship will be unveiled in Istanbul in early March. The Turkish club joins European rivals AC Milan, Olympiacos, FC Porto, PSV Eindhoven, Borussia Dortmund, RSC Anderlecht, FC Basel and Sevilla FC plus Brazilian clubs Flamengo and Corinthians.
