ROUND 5 OF SUPERSTARS INTERNATIONAL SERIES KICKS-OFF AT THE HUNGARORING
The engines have started at the Hungaroring circuit, hosting Round 5 of the SUPERSTARS INTERNATIONAL SERIES and round 4 of the GTSPRINT INTERNATIONAL SERIES after the last race held for both championships at Mugello in early June.
Many international-level names are expected to challenge for wins in SUPERSTARS at Budapest. A sensational battle will involve former F.1 drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien, with the latter joining the championship on a Maserati Quattroporte. Liuzzi and Klien, who shared their Formula 1 ride at Red Bull in 2005, will be back on-track as rivals, providing even more competition to the International Series. Local hero Norbert Michelisz, lining-up behind the wheel of a BMW M3 E92 prepared by Scuderia Giudici, also made a clear statement by ending up today's PM testing session in second place.In the two, one-hour tests Liuzzi proved extremely competitive. The Pescara-based man, currently laying third in standing, is looking forward to put together a solid run aboard his manufacturer-supported Mercedes C63 AMG lined-up by CAAL Racing. Two more Mercedes racecars also hit the track with Andrea Larini, who won Race 1 at Mugello, and Colombian Camilo Zurcher, while the Solaris Motorsport Chevrolet Lumina of Francesco Sini left a strong impression too. The Audi camp is ready to reverse their tough Mugello weekend and they will do it straight from Practice and Qualifying with three Audi RS5 racers for championship leader Johan Kristoffersson, multiple SUPERSTARS champ Gianni Morbidelli and rookie Thomas Schöffler. Another newcomer will race under the BMW banner: Franco Fumi has lined-up alongside by SUPERSTARS champions Thomas Biagi and Stefano Gabellini for Team BMW Dinamic. A new driver has also joined Ferlito Motors aboard one of the team's Jaguar XFR racecars, as Max Pigoli was entered alongside Domenico Ferlito.
It's going to be everybody against Andrea Palma in GTSPRINT. The Rome-based racer is currently on top in the overall standings by a comfortable margin aboard a Black Team-prepared Ferrari 458 Italia. The Italian squad is also fielding a second Ferrari for the Linossi-Pellegrinelli duo, while their arch-nemesis, the Autorlando Sport Porsche 997 RSR, is back in the game with the experienced Glauco Solieri. In the GTS3 class a Ferrari-Corvette challenge has started with Mario Cordoni (Ombra Racing Team) representing the Italian manufacturer and the duo of Roberto Del Castello and Roberto Benedetti lining-up on their Corvette Z06 R for RC Motorsport which performed great in testing this morning. The GTS3 category also welcomed newcoming Spaniard Rafael Unzurrunzaga and his Mosler MT900R GTS3 fielded by the Blue Jumeirah Team. In the GTS Cup Trophy, Vittorio Bagnasco with Happy Racer's Porsche 997 is set to defend his championship lead from the attacks of the many Ferrari teams, including Scuderia Baldini 27 Network, Team Malucelli and Kessel Racing.
