The Superstars Series is ready for its fourth meeting of the year at Mugello, Tuscany.
After Audi’s incredible success at Imola and Donington, for the first time this year the Permanent Bureau has decided to hand the German cars a huge weight penalty of 100 kilos as well as an air restrictor to try to balance the performances of the different cars.
Wether the decisions will work or not we will see very soon, this weekend, where championship leader Johan Kristoffersson will have to defend his leadership from his team-mate Gianni Morbidelli as well as all the different top competitors. With the new decisions, Maserati are expected to perform well as the Italian cars will be lighter and will enjoy more power.
However, Mercedes and BMW should not be underestimated. The C63 AMG has been allowed to run at a lower weight, which is expected to play in favour of Vitantonio Liuzzi, who currently lies third in the championship, but also of Andrea Larini, who enjoys his home race this weekend. Max Mugelli, Liuzzi’s team-mate, only lives a few miles away from the track and will surely want to show off in front of his home crowd.
Thomas Biagi will also be willing to prove himself and the BMW M3, after the weight of the car was reduced due to a performance balance. The double podium at his home track, Imola, was not enough to secure the championship lead as Kristofferson had two fantastic weekends, claiming two wins and two second places out of four races.
The 2010 Superstars Champion had to surrender to his team-mate Alberto Cerqui last year, but still came out of the track with a fourth and a second in his pocket. This year things might go better for the BMW Dinamic driver.
Uncertainity is going to play a big role this weekend, as everyone is waiting to see the consequences of the weight and air restrictor adjustments.
This weekend also marks the return of Ananda Mikola, this time with a Mercedes C63 AMG prepared by Roma Racing Team, alongside rookie Andrea Boffo. Camilo Zurcher, from Colombia, will make his debut in the series at the wheel of a Mercedes prepared by Romeo Ferraris. The South-American driver, who is 32 years old, had the highlight of his career in 2004, when he won the Bogota 6 Hours at the wheel of a Radical SR3. Zurcher is currently taking part in the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia with Petri Corse.
