Superstars get ready to fly at Monza

It’s not just the ETCC that gets underway this weekend, for also the highly anticipated Superstars kicks off, with nine different brands on the grid. Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Jaguar, Maserati, Mercedes and Porsche provide a line-up the envy of every other touring car series in Europe, if not the world.

Upwards of 30 V8 powered machines look set to roll out at Monza come the weekend, bucking the trend seen in other touring car series this season of reduced entries and weaker grids.

Headlining the entry is treble Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert in a Motorzone prepared Chevrolet Lumina CR8. The Briton is in good company, with reigning champion Gianni Morbidelli just one of another five ex-Formula One drivers on the grid.

Morbidelli, Superstars champion for the past three seasons, leads a four-car M3 E92 attack by BMW Italia, while ex-Simtek driver Mimmo Schiattarella will campaign another M3 for the RGA Sportsmanship team.

1997 ITCC Champion Emanuele Naspetti entered Grand Prix for March and Jordan but now drives a Mercedes C63 AMG for the Rangoni Motorsport team alongside team owner and former WTCC runner Luca Rangoni.

The final Grand Prix drivers due to appear in 2010 are sometime Pacific and Minardi driver Giovanni Lavaggi and ex-Fondmetal man Andrea Chiesa, who line up in a Chrysler 300 SRT8 and a Maserati Quattroporte respectively.

From the world of skiing, former Alpine Skiing World Championship double Silver medal winner Kristian Ghedina continues his autoracing career at the wheel of a Movisport BMW 550i – yet another model of car on the grid.

The sheer variety of machinery is outstanding, and likely to become more so as the season goes on. From Round Four at Portimao the new Porsche Panamera S of N-Technology will compete, piloted by Joao Barbosa.

Drivers too come from a variety of backgrounds. In addition to the celebrated F1 names and skiing legend Ghedina, former FIA GT Champion Thomas Biagi competes for BMW Italy alongside another GT ace in Luca Cappellari.

2004 Italian Formula Three Champion Matteo Cressoni is one of the youngest drivers in the series, as he makes his touring car debut in a Ferlito Motors Jaguar XF. Other newcomers from the world of single-seaters include Alberto Cola in an Audi RS4, who switches from Formula Renault and San Marinese Christian Montanari, in yet another BMW, who has competed as high as World Series by Renault in single-seaters, although more recently will be familiar to sportscar fans.

Other drivers, such as Ermanno Dionisio and Herbert’s teammate Nico Caldarola have rallying experience, while one to watch is Roma native Michela Cerruti, the series’ sole female, who steps up from the Trofeo 500 Abarth.

Just as with the cars, don’t rule out further additions on the driving front. With high profile Italians Alex Zanardi and Fabrizio Giovanardi currently driveless, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see either appear in Superstars at some point.

With the ambitious FG Group behind Superstars, led by the Flammini brothers of World Superbike fame, then it would appear that the series is going to be on an upward curve for sometime. Superstars promoter Dario Calzavara has made mention of attracting further former GP stars, with names such as Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese bandied about. The presence of big name F1 drivers has never done the DTM any harm; can it now do the same for Superstars?

Whilst the majority of drivers are Italian, or Italy based, the signing of Herbert broadens the appeal of the series to other European nations, evidence being articles like this one. If further big name signings, both Italian and non-Italian, can be made, then there seems to be no real reason why the series can’t continue it’s growth, making 2010 the year the Superstars took off.

In testing so far, Biagi has led the way with the multiple title winning skills of Morbidelli and 2009 runner up Stefano Gabellini not far behind, so it’s hard to look beyond the Championship heading the way of BMW Italy. With nearly half the grid bearing the badge of the Munich marque, it’s probably a good bet that the title will go to a BMW driver.

Much like in several other touring car championships, Chevrolet also look strong, so expect to see the Lumina’s of Herbert, Caldarola and highly rated youngster Filippo Zadotti near the front. Whoever ends up on top, it’s likely to be an exciting and entertaining season in the race for domestic and European Superstars honours.