Revamped technical regulations come into force in 2014

The Superstars Series will implement a number of radical changes for the 2014 season, with even less events in the Series’ base of Italy, the introduction of a new turbo class, and with four-wheel drive cars such as the controversial Audi RS 5 banned from the main category.

Maurizio Flammini, owner and organizer of the championship, gave an idea of what the 2014 edition of the championship will look like, the hot topic being the ban on four-wheel drive cars, effectively the double title-winning Audi RS 5, which won the last two titles driven by Gianni Morbidelli and Johan Kristoffersson.

Flammini made it clear in an interview with Autosprint that four-wheel drive cars will be banned from 2014, followng a lot a lot of talk recently on the subject. Audi Sport Italia manager Emilio Radaelli has said the plans for next year are still unclear, but the German cars may be converted to rear-wheel drive. The advantages of the AWD configuration, historically a ‘trademark’ of Audi touring cars, were limited by the permanent bureau by adding an air restrictor to the engine and raising the minimum ride height of the RS 5, but some races on wet tracks and 2013 champion Gianni Morbidelli’s ability to exploit the package to its maximum, still allowed Audi to win both the International and the Italian Series titles.

Next year the shape of the championship will be totally different. SWR, the series organisers, will select from eight to ten teams, each competing with cars from a specific manufacturer, and teams who have no manufacturer links to will be helped by SWR to make up for that. Flammini says that 36 teams have applied to enter this ‘Masterleague’, in which high-profile teams will be selected to receive strong financial backing from SWR, from a minimum of 60% up to 80%. Each team must field two cars, one of which will have to be driven by a high calibre or an ex-Formula One driver.

Flammini anticipated that the funds to help the teams will be raised by SWR itself, believing the capability of the series to raise sponsorship is greater than the single teams can on their own. With several non-Italian teams interested in the series, the Superstars will become even more international. Italy will only host two of the eight rounds in 2014, almost certainly at Monza and Vallelunga. Germany is believed to be interested in hosting a Superstars round, most likely at Hockenheim, and Brazil and Russia are a possible addition for 2015.

Ford are also rumoured to be entering the championship with the Mustang, which is set to renew the eternal Mustang-Camaro duel against the Solaris Motorsport Chevrolet Camaros. Flammini openly admitted his dream is to bring the Dodge Charger in the championship, to complete the fight between three of the most famous American manufacturers.

The Superstars will also create a ‘light’ series, in which 2.0 turbocharged cars will be permitted. In this class, AWD will still be allowed to race, enabling the competition of former World Rally cars such as the Subaru Impreza WRX and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. New cars are expected to be developed for this class as well, with C-segment cars being the target, such as the Mercedes A-Class, BMW 1 Series and the Audi S3.