SUPERLEAGUE FORMULA ADDS BRAZIL’S CORINTHIANS TO THE
GRID
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Brazilian club and former FIFA World Club Champions Corinthians
are the latest team to join Superleague Formula – the
new championship featuring the colours of the world's leading
football on 750 horsepower single seaters.
The Sao Paulo-based squad is the 11th team to secure its
place on the Superleague Formula grid. Corinthian's black
and white Menard V12-powered Panoz car will form a fierce
rivalry with the red and black machine of Rio de Janeiro opposition,
Flamengo.
Corinthians becomes the second club announcement of the week
after Spain's Sevilla was revealed as a Superleague Formula
entrant on Monday.
Corinthians earned the FIFA World Club Championship crown
in 2000, taking the first ever title awarded when they toppled
Vasco da Gama on penalties (4-3) at Rio's Maracana Stadium.
The club has four Brazilian Serie A titles to its credit,
the most recent being in 2005. They also won the Brazilian
Cup in 1995 and 2002 and the Brazilian Supercup in 1991. On
their home turf in Sao Paulo – Corinthians have earned
the state championship on 25 occasions.
With football and motorsport hugely popular in Brazil, the
rivalry between the Rio and Sao Paulo-based clubs is expected
to be a highlight of the Superleague Formula championship
which kicks off at Donington Park in the UK in August.
With eight world drivers championships and five FIFA World
Cup victories – Brazil provides a perfect mix of prowess
from both sports, an ideal mix for Superleague Formula.
Corinthians join AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Olympiacos, FC
Porto, Borussia Dortmund, RSC Anderlecht, Flamengo, FC Basel,
Galtasaray SK and the newly announced Sevilla on the 20 club
grid.
"We witnessed an amazing reception when we launched
the Flamengo entry in Brazil," Superleague Formula CEO
and President Alex Andreu said.
"That reaction really convinced both Corinthians and
Superleague Formula that having a major Sao Paulo-based club
would be hugely beneficial for the championship and the club
itself.
"We now have the two most popular clubs in that region
of the world – a huge fan base who will be very keen
to see their team take on Europe's best at race tracks around
the world.
"We are very much looking forward to heading back to
Brazil prior to the commencement of the championship to officially
unveil the Corinthians entry for their fans."
With 11 clubs already on board, a Spanish-based team has
also been signed and will be the next club officially confirmed.
Superleague Formula has also agreed terms with additional
clubs from the UK, France, Mexico, Korea, Portugal and the
United Arab Emirates and these are scheduled to be announced
during the coming weeks.
At each of the six rounds, the leading football teams will
fight it out for 1 million euro prizemoney. Each race weekend
will feature two separate races with one being a complete
reverse grid.
“Corinthians is delighted at the opportunity to expand
our sporting endeavors into an entirely new competition,”
Corinthians Chairman Andrés Sanchez said.
“Corinthians is delighted at the opportunity to expand
our sporting endeavors into an entirely new competition,”
Corinthians Chairman Andrés Sanchez said.
“Superleague Formula is a great chance for Corinthians
to do battle with some of the other leading names in world
football – our chance to fight it out on the world stage.
“The people of the city and state of Sao Paulo are
not only follow football with passion, but are also huge motorsport
fans as well.
“Our region of Brazil has an enormous motorsport history
and Corinthians is looking forward to adding to that.
“For our club, participating in this championship makes
perfect sense. It expands our brand onto the world stage,
we will get to compete with leading European clubs and we
are especially looking forward to continuing our rivalry with
Flamengo in an entirely new competition.”
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