The 2012 Superstars Series starts at Monza

The Superstars Series kicks off this weekend at Monza, after an intense winter break which brings more exciting news for the series, with the new Audi RS5 challenging Masterati, BMW and Mercedes.

After the Italian champion Alberto Cerqui moved to the World Touring Car Championship, the now rebranded BMW Team Dinamic fields former champion Thomas Biagi alongside Stefano Gabellini and Sandro Bettini this year.

The BMWs will be challenged this year by another interesting contender, the all-new Audi RS5 fielded by Audi Sport Italia. The team has a strong driver line-up, with multi-champion and former Grand Prix driver Gianni Morbidelli partnered by Thomas Schloffer and Scandinavian Touring Car Championship driver Johan Kristoffersson.

Mercedes will be represented this year with Romeo Ferraris, who fields a single car effort for Andrea Larini, former F1 and WTCC driver Nicola’s brother, and by CAAL Racing, with 2006 FIA GT3 champion Max Mugelli and former Formula One driver Vitantonio Liuzzi.

After winning the International Superstars Series with Andrea Bertolini, Maserati will field a Quattroporte driven alternatively by Mika Salo and Christian Fittipaldi, with a second one in the hands of Mauro Cesari.

Ferlito Motors has recently announced that its Jaguar XSs will be driven by former champion Max Pigoli and Gianmaria Gabbiani, while Solaris Motorsport will be on track with a single Chevrolet car driven by Francesco Sini.

The presence of many big names of the international motorsport and the five races to be held out of Italy (Donington Park, Hungaroring, Spa, Portimao and Sentul, which hosts the final round of the calendar) sees the series’ expand even further outside Europe, with the organisers announcing that in the next two years there will be races in Brazil and in the United States.

With the renewed works effort from Audi and the presence of more than twenty cars on the grid, the Superstars Series is currently one of the healthiest touring car championships in motorsport.

International Superstars Series Entry List – Monza

No – Driver – Team – Car
1 – Mika Salo – Swiss Team – Maserati
3 – Thomas Biagi – Team BMW Dinamic – BMW M3 E92
4 – Stegano Gabellini – Team BMW Dinamic – BMW M3 E92
6 – Sandro Bettini – Team BMW Dinamic – BMW M3 E92
8 – Francesco Ascani – Todi Corse – BMW M3 E90
9 – Paulo Meloni – W&D Racing Team – BMW M3 E90
10 – Walter Meloni – W&D Racing Team – BMW M3 E90
12 – Francesco Sini – Solaris Motorsport – Chevrolet Lumina CR8
18 – Max Pigoli – Ferlito Motors – Jaguar XF SV8
22 – Mauro Cesari – Swiss Team – Maserati Quattroporte
23 – Luca Cappellari – MRT by Nocentini – Lexus IS-F
27 – Nico Caldarola – Roma Racing Team – Mercedes C63 AMG
28 – Andraea Boffo – Roma Racing Team – Merecedes C63 AMG
33 – Riccardo Bossi – Scuderia Giudici – BMW M3 E92
43 – Andrea Perlini/Marco Fumagalli – Scuderia Giudici – BMW 550i E60
45 – Gianni Morbidelli – Audi Sport Italia – Audi RS5
46 – Johan Kristoffersson – Audi Sport Italia – Audi RS5
47 – Thomas Schoffler – Audi Sport Italia – Audi RS5
54 – Vitantonio Liuzzi – CAAL Racing – Mercedes C63 AMG
56 – Leonardo Baccarelli – Todi Corse – BMW 550i E60
58 – Max Mugelli – CAAL Racing – Mercedes C63 AMG
99 – Andrea Larini – Romeo Ferraris – Mercedes C63 AMG
TBC – Gian Maria Gabbiani – Ferlito Motors – Jaguar XF SV8