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Leading Swiss football club FC Basel
has set its sights on climbing a new sporting summit – taking
on the world's best football clubs on four wheels in the new Superleague
Formula championship.
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 colours of the world's finest
football clubs.
The club's red and blue colours 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.
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 honourable 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
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 colours will get additional exposure and attention
in this way.
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