Superstars on ice until 2002

The series for 3-litre touring cars was due to be launched next year, with a 10-race calendar, but with no manufacturers willing to commit to the concept, organiser Octagon Motorsports had attempted to find a partner series to run alongside.

Talks had begun to combine the championship with the European Super Touring series, but in a statement today (Wednesday), Octagon Motorsports chairman Maurizio Flammini said: "Unfortunately, as the project is completely new, the time needed to develop the regulations and cars is longer than anticipated due to difficulties in agreeing with the interested parties a set of rules that uphold the Superstars prime objective: high performance of the cars to create interest for the public and the drivers, with manageable costs for private teams.

"Our team continues to work on the development of the Superstars project that we intend to launch in 2002."

BMW and Volvo had been mentioned as prime candidates for Superstars, a tuner-based series with private teams running the cars, but neither has publicly supported the series. Flammini, however, remained positive that the postponement would not lead to a full cancellation, stating that 32 teams from six countries had expressed an interest in participating in the series.

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