Superstars rules and dates announced

The Flammini Group, which has grown World Superbikes into a bigger crowd-puller than the rival Moto Grand Prix series, says Superstars is designed to minimise costs and maximise parity between the competing marques. The cars will be 3-litres, with performance equalised by means of individually-tailored engine air restrictors, ballast and aero kits determined by the organisers.

Each marque will have one designated tuner, which will produce race kits at a cost of $100,000 (£60,000). The specification of the kits will be frozen before the season, with any changes at the organisers' discretion.

For 2002, a class for cars above 3-litres will be introduced, with diesels also being considered. The organisers believe that parity can be maintained, whatever configuration cars may be run in.

The 2001 calendar announced in Monaco on Tuesday includes 10 race meetings in four countries, with Britain and Italy getting three dates each and Spain and Germany two. Each meeting will include a 30-minute sprint, a 60-minute feature, possibly with a driver change and fuel stop, and a four-lap shoot-out for the day's top cars.

First round is at Monza on April 1 and Flammini Group chief Maurizio Flammini says he is hopeful that a 24-car grid will be ready by then and that a TV package, brokered by Flammini Group's parent company Octagon, will be in place.

"We have spoken to BMW, Ford, Volvo, Alfa Romeo, Honda and Renault, plus Korean manufacturers too," said Flammini. "They are thinking of making an investment and some are asking their allied tuners to make proposals."

Preparation experts interested in the proposed championship include TWR, Prodrive and RML, who were all represented at the launch.

Prodrive's David Lapworth said: "If Prodrive found the right partner, we would be interested. I'd like to see something happen in terms of an international touring car series and if it happens we'd like to be involved. If a Superstars budget is BTCC-sized, then three or four countries chipping in makes real sense."

Lapworth believes that development time for a tuning kit would be in the region of six months which, added to two months' of pre-season testing for teams receiving the kit, means a manufacturer would ideally need to commit by September.

Prodrive, which runs Ford's BTCC campaign, has been linked to Volvo for a Superstars or DTM campaign, but Lapworth remained non-commital: "That's very speculative," he said. "They are connected to the Ford empire, so yeah, we have had discussions, but all the Ford brands seem to be waiting to see what happens before committing to anything."



April 1, Monza (I)
May 6, Lausitzring (D)
June 3, Silverstone (GB)
June 17, Valencia (E)
July 15, Misano (I)
July 29, Nurburgring (D)
August 26, Brands Hatch (GB)
September 23, Donington Park (GB)
October 7, Vallelunga (I)
October 21, Jarama (E)