Creating new tin-top superstars

For the first time since 1969, there are no Italian Formula 1 drivers at the start of a world championship season. But that doesn't necessarily mean that 2012 will be a quiet year for Italian motor racing on the world stage.

If the organisers behind the Superstars Series have anything to say about it, this will be the year that a championship coming out of Italy will become a major player on the international touring car scene.

Before we go too far into talking about where Superstars wants to go, let's take a quick look back to where it has come from. Nine years ago the Superstars concept was born, designed to be a production-based touring car series for V8-powered cars, racing solely on Italian circuits. In 2004, under the Trofeo Nazionale Superstars banner, there were five teams and two manufacturers.

Entering 2012, things have definitely changed. It's now called the International Superstars Series, and the list of manufacturers has grown to nine. The number of household-name drivers on the entry list has steadily developed, and there are rounds scheduled in Britain, Belgium, Portugal, Hungary and even Indonesia this year.

Johnny Herbert raced a Mercedes in 2011, but has a Maserati to use this year

There is also a separate sub-championship that will determine an Italian title-winner with points only accrued at the four rounds that take place within the country and - oddly - the Algarve event in Portugal. As a regular support category, there is also a GT-based series called Superstars GT Sprint that supports the tin-tops on seven occasions.

These are all impressive stats, but there is still a long way to go until Superstars is recognised around the world as a top-line touring car series in the same way as the DTM in Germany, or even V8 Supercars in Australia.

That's where FG GROUP steps in. The Italian company has promoted the World Superbike Championship since 1989, overseeing its growth into a series that has genuinely challenged MotoGP in terms of crowds and commercial support. Now the organisation is focused on getting the same results out of Superstars.

"This is the year that the Superstars Series will confirm itself as an international reference point in world motorsport," says Vincenzo Lamaro, managing director of FG.

"The top drivers and nine brands represented guarantee another year of spectacular shows for us to enjoy. Superstars is broadcast live in 66 countries, just another example of our international strength and growth."

Continual growth, overseas expansion and becoming "an international reference point" are tasks easier said than done, but one thing that Superstars has very much in its favour is the cars.

While the British and World Touring Car Championships have gone down the path of small-capacity, turbocharged engines, Superstars is sticking with a tried-and-proven formula: big hero cars with noisy, powerful big-capacity engines (anything from six to 12 cylinders). While not as technologically advanced, the cars are not dissimilar to those used in the DTM. They are even more similar to those used in V8 Supercars, which continues to buck international trends and grow from commercial strength to commercial strength.

Liuzzi has switched to Superstars from Formula 1 and has winning a target © LAT

According to Will Gruy, FG's international business coordinator, having what is essentially an open formula for 500-horsepower cars is crucial for Superstars' success.

"One of the fundamentals of Superstars is that it's pure racing," he says.

"It's big, fast cars, period. There is no traction control or driver assistance - this is a call back to the pure racing cars that made racing history.

"All the manufacturers we have make great cars out of the box, so it's only a case of making minor adjustments before they're ready to race. Part of the thrill of Superstars is that these are raw touring cars with more than 500 horsepower and no traction control. And they're not fragile cars either, so drivers are not shy about swapping paint."

The one area where Superstars already trumps DTM and V8 Supercars is in variety. In 2012 there will be nine different models of car on the grid: Audi RS5, BMW M3, Cadillac CTS-V, Chevrolet Lumina CR-8, Jaguar XF SV8, Lexus ISF, Maserati Quattroporte, Porsche Panamera and Mercedes C63 AMG. Superstars may yet to become a major force in world motorsport, but that is undoubtedly an impressive line-up.

The list of guys driving these cars is also becoming more and more impressive. Formula 1 refugee Vitantonio Liuzzi is clearly the biggest name to join the series for 2012, with a full programme aboard a C63 AMG Mercedes at CAAL Racing. He won't be the only guy with F1 on his CV, with Mika Salo sharing the Swiss Racing Maserati - in which Andrea Bertolini won last year's title - with ex-Minardi and Arrows grand prix driver Christian Fittipaldi. Three-time GP winner Johnny Herbert will also drive a Maserati at the British round at Donington, and series staple Gianni Morbidelli will be back in a brand-new Audi.

But while these recognisable names are a boost for the series, FG GROUP is keen for Superstars to live up to its name, and develop its own famous drivers.

Full grids have been a feature of Superstars since 2010

"Having good drivers and household names is really important in terms of developing a championship," says Gruy. "It's really important to bring in guys like Bertolini [a former FIA GT1 world champion], Liuzzi and Herbert, these big names. But from this year, a big focus will be on developing our drivers. We want drivers to become big names because they are racing in Superstars. That's the next step, the step that happens when we're on the world stage."

Speaking of the world stage, 2012 features a long-haul trip to Sentul in Indonesia, following four rounds in Italy (Monza, Imola, Mugello and Vallelunga), as well as races in Britain (Donington Park), Hungary (Hungaroring), Portugal (Algarve) and Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps). The ambitious move to South-East Asia is part of a bigger plan to expand into South and North America as soon as next year.

"Expansion goes in steps," says Gruy. "We made the step from Italy to Europe, and now we're making the step from Europe to the world.

"Indonesia is just another step. The same thing happened with Superbikes when they went to Indonesia in the early 1990s, which was the first step to the world scene. From there, it became the world championship that it is today.

"So with Superstars, we're pushing it to follow that with places like South America and the United States."

The timelines and the goals are ambitious in what is a tough economic climate for world sports. But if you break it down simply, Liuzzi in a C63 Mercedes, Morbidelli in an RS5 Audi and Thomas Biagi in an M3 BMW, racing around tracks like Spa, Monza and Donington sounds pretty darned good, really.