SUPERLEAGUE FORMULA PORTUGUESE DRAGONS READY TO BREATH FIRE
INTO RACE ASSAULT
 Portuguese
club FC Porto has kicked off the debut year of Superleague
Formula by unveiling their fire breathing blue and white 750
horsepower racer at Dragon Stadium today.
Announced as one of the original four clubs in the championship
in April last year, the Jesualdo Ferreira-coached squad came
face to face today with their own blue and white Dragon which
actually does breath fire.
Powered by the Menard Competition Technologies V12 engine,
the car was unveiled by the players for the local media at
the club's home ground – the state-of-the-art venue
which hosted the opening game of the Euro 2004 championship.
With the first race scheduled to kick off at Doningon Park
in England in August this year, Superleague Formula has now
reached the half way mark in filling the grid.
FC Porto joins AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Olympiacos, Borussia
Dortmund, RSC Anderlecht, Flamengo, FC Basel and Galtasaray
SK.
With nine clubs already on board, a Brazilian-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, Spain, France, Mexico, Korea,
Portugal and the United Arab Emirates and these are scheduled
to be announced during the coming weeks.
FC Porto fans will now get their chance to see the car this
Saturday night when the 22-time Portuguese champions take
on SC Braga at "Estádio do Dragão".
"I’m sure the F.C. Porto fans will closely follow
Superleague Formula, a competition that will gather some of
the best football clubs on the race track," said Pinto
da Costa, FC Porto’s President.
"These races will be very important to reinforce the
global impact of FC Porto, which is already represented across
five continents, and which will now have a new focus of interest
for its worldwide fans, as Superleague Formula will be a global-spanning
event with races at different venues.
"We congratulate the organisation for this initiative.
I’m sure we will witness great spectacles and very close
racing, as all cars are based on the same platform."
Renowned as one of the most successful Portugese clubs, FC
Porto have two Champions League titles to their credit alongside
22 Portuguese crowns, 13 Portuguese Cups and 15 Portuguese
Supercup crowns.
"Motorsport fans will now have a new reason to follow
the races. Their love for motorsports and their love for football
will finally come together," said Vítor Baía,
FC Porto Director of External Relations.
"It will be as if the magic of football and the feelings
it brings out are transferred onto the race track. This is
why I believe in the success of Superleague Formula and in
highly interesting races. Porto fans will be thrilled with
the FC Porto car’s performance"
While Superleague Formula completed 2007 at a furious pace
with three launches in three weeks for Flamengo, RSC Anderlecht
and FC Basel – in 2008, series organisers have hit top
gear with yesterday's annoucement of the confirmation of electronics
suppllier Pi Research joining chassis contractor Elan Motorsports
Technologies and engine manufacturer Menard Competition Technologies.
This weekend, British race fans also get their first chance
to see the Superleague Formula cars at Autosport International
– the Racing Car Show at Birmingham's National Exhibition
Centre, located less than 35 miles from Donington Park. PSV
Eindhoven and Flamengo's cars are on display at the Superleague
Formula stand at the show which attracts more than 75,000
visitors annually.
With the grid filling fast and the Superleague Formula car
set to hit the track for the first time in March, series President
and CEO Alex Andreu is eagerly awaiting the exciting year
ahead.
"Our team has had a brief opportunity to rest their
batteries over Christmas but 2008 has now arrived and we are
only eight months away from the first race," Andreu said.
"FC Porto was one of our initial clubs to sign and we
thrilled to kick off 2008 with the unveiling of the "dragon"
here in the famous port city.
"We have a host of good news to announce in the weeks
ahead – both new clubs and race teams. As spring draws
near, we'll also have news on testing, drivers, marketing
partners, television deals and major promotions.
"After many years of hard work behind the scenes, everyone
in our ever-expanding team in Barcelona can't wait for our
kick off."
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