Swiss club joins Superleague Formula
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FC Basel President Gigi Oeri with Superleague Formula President and CEO Alex Andreu |
The 2007 Swiss Cup winners join European clubs AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, FC Porto, Olympiacos, Borussia Dortmund, RSC Anderlecht plus Brazilian giants Flamengo in the new motorsport competition.
A further 12 clubs will be added to the roster – providing a grid of at least 20 cars for the first race of the championship that will commence in August, 2008.
Superleague Formula will feature 750 horsepower, V-12 powered single-seaters bearing the colors of the world's finest football clubs.
The club's red and blue colors were unveiled today at Superleague Formula's Barcelona headquarters with FC Basel President Gigi Oeri and Superleague Formula CEO and President Alex Andreu on hand.
FC Basel will be looking to transfer their on-field footballing success to race track victories.
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Swiss team colors |
Along with its Swiss Cup victory from this year, FC Basel has 11 Swiss League championships to its credit – including three in the new millennium (2002, 2004 and 2005). This year's Cup win brings their total to eight – including the club's very first trophy success from 1933.
FC Basel also won the Swiss League Cup in 1973 and the Coppa della Alpi in 1969, 1970 and 1981.
"We are delighted to welcome a new club and another new country of football fans to Superleague Formula," Alex Andreu said.
"Our aim is to partner with the finest football clubs in the world. FC Basel was very unlucky not to win last year's Swiss Championship as well as the Swiss Cup and they have begun 2007/08 in similar fine form.
"We look forward to presenting the club's blue and red Superleague Formula car at St. Jakob-Park in Basel later this year."
Superleague Formula will feature a dramatic-looking Elan/Panoz single-seater built by Élan Motorsport Technologies in the United States.
It will be powered by a 750bhp 4.2-litre V12 engine designed by US-owned Menard Competition Technologies (MCT) in Leafield, England.
"As the president of FC Basel 1893 I am looking forward to the honorable collaboration with the Superleague Formula," FC Basel President, Gigi Oeri said.
All race teams will have identical cars and engines with high performance specs, allowing the drivers’ skills to be the determining factor.
"Car racing and football has a lot of similarities: both sports feature speed, precision, teamwork, technology and targeted efforts," FC Basel club coach Christian Gross said.
"Therefore, I am pleased that FC Basel 1893 is the only Swiss football team to partner with Superleague Formula and that our Basel red and blue colors will get additional exposure and attention in this way.