Mugello Set For A1GP Season-Opener

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A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will race in Italy for the first time this season with the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello today holding a launch event including the first public running of the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car ahead of the 2008/09 season opener later this year.

A1GP Mugello, Italy will be held on 19 – 21 September 2008 and the focus for the patriotic local fans is sure to be A1 Team Italy, which today also unveiled its new car for the first time at its home track.

Piercarlo Ghinzani, A1 Team Italy Seatholder: “At present we are preparing the Italian driver team. Our goal is to run a team of four drivers: two rookies and two official drivers. The goal for this season is to guide A1 Team Italy to victory. If the Italian driver market will supply us with good drivers I will certainly provide them with what is needed in order to win.”

Today also marked the first public running of the A1GP Powered by Ferrari car. The extensive testing programme the car has undergone since May has produced a car to be proud of, and the distinctive notes of the Ferrari engine that will be propelling all the cars on the A1GP grids round the world could today be heard powering around the Ferrari owned circuit.

Mario Almondo said: “It is a pleasure to cooperate with A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. The project and the development of the chassis-engine package has been done in a record-time frame. The 8-cylinder engine, which will be the basis of the new family of Ferrari road cars engines, has shown excellent performance and driveability. It is also important that the first race weekend of the 2008-2009 season will take place at the Mugello circuit, a top-class venue in motorsport in terms of safety and facilities, as shown during the last Italian Grand Prix of MotoGP”

Ferrari Corse Clienti are also taking part in the A1GP Mugello, 19 – 21 September, with a host of activity to provide exciting on-track action and entertainment for the Italian fans over the course of the weekend. Spectators can expect to see the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, Ferrari FXX Programme and Clienti in Pista, with the event being open to the public for free on Friday.

Italian Andrea Bertolini has been one of the drivers tasked with putting the new car through its paces during the development stages and has completed nearly 3000-kilometres of testing so far. Although doing a job for all the teams he will be taking a particular interest in the progress of his home nation, A1 Team Italy, this coming season. Bertolini said: “I am happy to contribute to the development of this car. I have done a few days of testing and I have to say I am quite happy with the results. The car is growing up very quickly and is nice to drive it. The engine also has good driveability and the level of performance is very high. This package will help make the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport ever more interesting.”

For season four there is also a new brand with the first public showing being at Mugello Circuit. The design of the new A1GP World Cup of Motorsport logo represents the values and distinctiveness of the existing logo, now incorporating the iconic Ferrari brand as the series moves into a new era. The solution is a dynamic combination of the two identities, capturing both the excitement and momentum of A1GP and the heritage and reputation of Ferrari.

The simple, powerful new logo is a clear and uncompromising combination of the two brands. The new logo is memorable and easy to apply across a growing range of media as the series evolves and grows.

Tony Teixeira, A1GP Chairman: “Partnering with a world-class organisation like Ferrari officially cements A1GP’s position on the International motorsport calendar. Ferrari adds significant value to our brand and in our opinion there is no better partner to progress the series. This is the first time Ferrari has partnered with another series and we are extremely proud for them to be working with A1GP as the series moves forward into its fourth season.”
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