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One of Europe’s most multi-faceted
sporting clubs is the latest team to unveil its 2008 assault on
the new motorsport championship that features the colours of the
world’s leading football clubs.
Greek football champions Olympiacos unveiled its
Superleague Formula entry in Athens today with manager Takis Lemonis
and club captain Predrag Djordjevic revealing the 750-horsepower
V-12 powered machine to their team-mates and local media.
Champions of Greece for the past three years, Olympiacos
was one of the original four clubs announced when Superleague Formula
was launched earlier this year.
Olympiacos joins AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, FC Porto,
Borussia Dortmund, RSC Anderlecht, and Flamengo on the club roster
that is growing towards the 20 cars to line up on the grid for the
first race in August 2008.
The legendary Greek club has won a total of 60 major
championships including 35 Greek championships and 22 Greek cups.
Based in the Athens port of Piraeus, Olympiacos
now adds motorsport to an extensive list of sports contested by
the club including football, basketball (9-times Greek champions),
volleyball (32-times Greek champions), water polo (36-times Greek
champions), swimming (49-times Greek champions), sailing (36-times
Greek champions), table tennis (124 total Greek championships in
mens, women’s, doubles and mixed competitions) plus boxing,
athletics, shooting, weight lifting, wrestling, tennis and rowing.
The addition of Olympiacos to the Superleague Formula
championship has provided the new series with extensive media exposure
in the Greek market. While the country annually hosts a round of
the World Rally Championship, the club’s Superleague Formula
entry is the highest profile Greek road-racing project ever conducted.
“Olympiacos is an amazing sporting club and
we are thrilled to have them as one of the founding teams of Superleague
Formula,” said Alex Andreu, Superleague Formula CEO and President.
“The club is involved in so many different
sports; it seemed only natural that it would add motorsport to that
list.
“We are very excited about the Greek market.
Being able to tap into Olympiacos’ passionate fan base will
introduce a virtually new sport into this region.”
The fleet of Superleague Formula Panoz-chassis are
currently under construction at Elan Motorsport Technologies in
the US. The car will test for the first time early next year with
the Menard Competition Technologies 4.2 litre, V-12 engine.
“It is the club’s mission to promote
sport and activate youth,” said club CEO Petros Kokkalis.
“Faithful to our establishment, Olympiacos
invests in being the most significant multisport club in Europe.
“Today the club operates 17 different “Olympic”
sport departments. To this direction we are always interested in
new sport-related projects. Motorsports and Superleague Formula
will be accepted with tremendous interest by our fans.”
The red and white Olympiacos machine will be presented
to the club’s fans tomorrow at Karaiskákis Stadium
prior to the club’s Greek match against Apollon Thessalonikis.
“I am confident that our supporters will exhibit
the same level of enthusiasm and passion as in top level club competitions
like UEFA Competitions. Superleague Formula is a mega event that
we are all looking forward to,” continued Kokkalis.
“We are very proud to be the first Greek club
participating in Superleague Formula. Olympiacos has the infrastructure
and know-how to meet the requirements of such a project.
“We are confident that the club’s participation
in terms of organisation and crowd involvement will fully compensate
the Superleague Formula for their wise choice.”
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