TURKISH DELIGHT FOR ITALIAN SQUAD WITH GALATASARAY SK
 Galatasaray
SK's race team for the new Superleague Formula championship
has taken the opportunity to become acquainted with their
new fans in Istanbul this week after Thursday's official launch.
Milan-based Scuderia Playteam were on hand tonight at Ali
Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul as Galatasaray defeated Kayserispor
2-0.
The club's Superleague Formula car was paraded in front of
the fans prior to the commencement of the match. Two of the
Galatasaray's potential drivers, Italian Alessandro Pier Guidi
and local Turkish star Jason Tahinci also took the opportunity
to meet some of the local fans at the famous Istanbul spice
market.
"I'm proud to be part of the Superleague Formula organisation
and obviously I'm a fan of Galatasaray so it kind of works
out for me really well," said Tahinci.
"When these kind of names like the football clubs are
in the business it's difficult to reject, so when I looked
at the portfolio, the possibilities and the prospect, it was
definitely yes for me.
"These cars are well built and because they are so quick,
they will show some great races and I'm sure having good drivers
and good cars on the circuit will provide great entertainment.
That's what the crowd want and what you want to see on TV."
Tahinci competed in GP2 throughout 2007 while Pier Guidi
was part of Scuderia Playteam's assault on the FIA GT championship
aboard a Maserati MC-12
"I am really looking forward to the chance to drive
the car. Looking at the technical specifications, it is going
to be very challenging," Pier Guidi said.
"The opportunity of competing in Superleague Formula
with Scuderia Playteam is exciting for me because these guys
are really like family for me.
"I am actually an AC Milan fan, but now I'm wearing
the Galatasaray colours, I will be doing my best to beat that
car and when the two clubs play each other in European football,
I will have to start cheering for Galatasaray."
Like all race teams involved in Superleague Formula, Scuderia
Playteam will oversee the efforts of two football clubs in
the championship.
With Galatasaray already assigned to them, the Italian squad
is looking closer to home for their second Superleague Formula
entry.
"We're an Italian team but we're involved with two football
clubs, so one will be Italian and for the second, we chose
Galatasaray," Giannoccaro said.
"I love this city, I love this country, I feel Turkey
is very close to Italian culture so I think that we can do
the best for Galatasary as a team.
"I believe Superleague Formula is a big idea and a big
opportunity, because motorsport and football together puts
together two important things.
"One is brand awareness that motorsport does not always
have, and the other is the fact that there are more than one
billion fans all over the world supporting their football
clubs."
Galatasaray became the 11th club to be launched by Superleague
Formula this weekend. Three more club announcements are expected
in the coming weeks and a total of 20 clubs will line up on
the grid when the first race kicks off at Donington Park in
the UK in August.
The 750-horsepower, V-12 powered Superleague Formula car
hit the track for the first time at Donington this week. A
total of six, three-day tests are scheduled during the development
phase. The next outing will be at the Monteblanco circuit
in Spain later this month. French driver, Bruce Jouanny is
acting as the series official test driver.
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