New British Racing Team to Take to the Track in 2008

05 December 2007

The 2008 racing season heralds the arrival of a new name in motorsport: CR Scuderia. The new team will race Ferrari 430s in the FIA GT and British GT Championships, alongside a single-seater campaign in the Formula Renault UK Championship.

Although the CR Scuderia (CRS) name is new, the team has strong roots in the industry. The team is the brainchild of Chris Niarchos, Chairman of the Cobra Group, a long-time sponsor of British motorsport talent. As the Team Principal of CRS, Chris has built a strong team around him to take on the formidable challenge of entering three competitive championships.

The Team Director at CRS is Andrew Kirkaldy, a former winner of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, who has also run his own successful race team. Malcolm Swetnam is the CRS Team Manager and with 20 years of experience with manufacturers such as Ferrari, Ford, Honda and Seat, he knows a thing or two about running a top team. CRS has a group of top engineers, including Steve Bunkhall, Eddie Hinckley and Lee Penn, along with mechanics and marketing personnel with long careers in the worlds of Formula One, Touring Cars, sportscar racing and single-seaters.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for CRS in 2008 will be the FIA GT Championship. The team will run two Ferrari 430s in the fiercely competitive GT2 category, fielding a group of talented drivers who know what it takes to win at an international level. Andrew Kirkaldy has proved many times that he is the fastest GT2 driver in the FIA GT Championship; now he will be joined by the current Le Mans Series GT2 Champion, Rob Bell, creating what could turn out to be an unbeatable partnership. In the sister car Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen will recreate the successful partnership that brought them many race wins and the title victory in the 2006 British GT Championship.

“We have taken the time to talk to the best people in the industry to make sure we build a team with a winning pedigree,” said Team Principal, Chris Niarchos. “I’m excited about our FIA GT line-up for 2008 as I think we have created something very special. There’s a lot more to come as we are currently finalising our British GT and Formula Renault line-ups and I can’t wait to unveil our sponsors and partners at Autosport International in January. We have some very exciting times ahead of us.”

CRS will also run three Ferrari 430s in the British GT Championship and enter a full team into the Formula Renault UK Championship. The AKA Cobra Formula Renault team, co-owned by Chris Niarchos, Andrew Kirkaldy and Paul Jackson, will become the CRS Formula Renault team in 2008. More details, including driver line-ups, for both of these championships will be announced soon.

The new team will officially launch at Autosport International in January 2008 where one of the CRS cars on display will be the first 2008-spec Ferrari 430 GT2 car. The wraps will be pulled off the stunning new CRS livery, displayed on one of the team’s new transporters and three of the race cars, and an exciting array of sponsors and suppliers will be unveiled.

Lindsay Morle

See 2007 series calendar for FIA GT Championship

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