December's Sydney Telstra 500 at Homebush is simmering to spice the field with international flavour as the 2010 Hertz MINI Challenge - delivered by Pizza Capers nears its climax with the potential for one of four drivers to take home the crown.
As a part of their prize for winning the Spanish series of MINI Challenge, both Jose Manuel De Los Milagros and Javier Villa will make the trip across the equator to take part under the Team MINI Spain entry.
Both drivers will be flying round the circuit in two Australian-spec MINI R56 Challenge cars which will be a unique experience on two fronts. Firstly, both will switch to the right side of the cockpit and secondly, both will be driving their own R56 for every session.
Unlike the Australian series the Spanish race in pairs - one car, two drivers each round sharing the sessions with a driver swap in Race 3. This format is what 2009 Champion Paul Stokell and Runner-up Chris Alajajian experienced when they visited the Spanish series earlier this year as a part of their prize for last season's efforts, courtesy of MINI Australia.
De Los Milagros and Villa are no strangers to MINI Challenge or motorsport for that matter and will be an unknown factor that may well surprise some of Australia's best.
Villa is certainly no slouch to the sport, being the most experienced driver in the history of the global GP2 series despite being just 23 years of age. His best result in the GP2 series came in 2006 when he finished fifth for the year with 3 wins - that season was won by a young Lewis Hamilton with Nelson Piquet Jr second.
The addition of the two Spaniards added to a mix of Australian and Kiwi drivers is set to flavour the field with some international ingredients. Of the Kiwi contingent, Squawking Magpie Wines driver Gavin Yortt will race in a battle for third in the overall championship standings while compatriot Rob Knight returns in the Box and Lock entry after two successful debut rounds in Townsville and Gold Coast this year.
Both Stokell and Alajajian will be the only two with any idea of the Spaniards capabilities but will have other things on-mind as they battle it out for Championship glory with just 28.5 points separating the pair coming into the final round at Homebush.
The addition of the Spanish is a huge boost to the Australian series which has been actively engaging in the international MINI Challenge scene this year. MINI Challenge runs globally within 7 countries: Germany, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and UK with all racecars manufactured from BMW Headquarters in Germany.
Catch all the MINI Challenge action from the final round of the 2010 Australian series December 3 at 17.00 when drivers line-up for Qualifying around the 3.4 kilometre street circuit.
MINI Challenge Spanish Champion Javier Villa said:"For us the 2010 season was a fantastic year in Spain. We won 4 races and finished second twice on our way to becoming the Spanish MINI Challenge Champions. Now we have been offered a great opportunity by MINI to travel across the world for the final round of the 2010 Australian series and have the possibility to travel to such a wonderful country. We are sure that we will learn a lot with this new and exciting experience that MINI Challenge Spain has offered us, and we hope also, that it can help us in our future careers."
Hertz MINI Challenge - delivered by Pizza Capers is the most exciting, premium single-make series in the world. The seven round series runs as an official support category of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
The seventh and final round of Hertz MINI Challenge - delivered by Pizza Capers takes crew to Homebush for the Sydney 500 - December 3-5.
