Sky to Sponsor CR Suderia in FIA GT, British
GT and Formula Renault
10 January 2008
Autosport International, Birmingham NEC, UK – 10 January 2008:
The wraps came off the CR Scuderia racing cars at Autosport International
today, revealing a striking red, white and blue livery that carries
across the team’s entries in the FIA GT, British GT and Formula
Renault UK Championships.
ITV’s Ted Kravitz was on hand to introduce CRS Team Principal,
Chris Niarchos, who revealed that the team had secured an exciting
multi-year sponsorship deal with BSkyB (Sky). This sponsorship will
support the Sky brand across its TV, broadband and home telephony services.
“We are extremely excited about our sponsorship of CR Scuderia,” said
William Mellis, Director of Customer Acquisition, BSkyB. “This
platform provides us with an opportunity to support the Sky brand as
it continues to innovate in home entertainment services and, following
the launch of Sky Broadband and Sky Talk, also becomes a leader in
great value home communications.”
CR Scuderia is also delighted to have secured commercial partnerships
with companies including Grand Prix Racewear (GPR), Alpinestars, Giorgio,
Fast Wax, Creative Print Group, Performance Friction, PPG and Autosmart.
“From day one I have said it is vitally important for us to enter
our first year of racing on a solid commercial footing,” said
CRS Team Principal, Chris Niarchos. “We are proud to run the
Sky brand across our three race programmes and believe that this partnership
will provide many opportunities for the team and for Sky in the coming
years. We are equally delighted to have forged new relationships with
some fantastic commercial partners and look forward to getting out
on track and making them proud to be a part of this team.”
CR Scuderia will continue its successful Formula Renault campaign in
2008. The team ran in the 2007 Formula Renault UK Championship as ‘AKA
Cobra’ and will be looking to take more race wins this year with
a strong team of talented young drivers.
Two of the team’s signings appeared at Autosport International
today: Adam Christodoulou (18) enters his second season in cars and
will be pushing hard to get his first win after coming so tantalisingly
close last year. Karting sensation, Scott Jenkins (16), is a talented
British racer entering his first full season of car racing in 2008.
“Adam did a very good job for us in 2007,” commented Andrew
Kirkaldy. “He is the highest-placed 2007 driver returning to
the championship and I think he has what it takes to win the title.
He is a level-headed driver who learns quickly and recovers fast from
any setbacks and he also won the Graduate Cup last year which says
it all. We watched Scott during testing for the Winter Series and he
impressed us when he drove our car. He has a good karting pedigree
and I think he will do a great job for us.”
The identity of the other two CRS Formula Renault drivers will be revealed
soon.
CRS has also recognised that it is vital to nurture young motorsport
talent. Over the last few years, Chris Niarchos - through his company,
The Cobra Group plc - has sponsored some talented young drivers, most
recently Jonathan Cocker. In 2008 the Cobra Group will sponsor Sam
Jenkins (13), the younger brother of Scott, as he continues to blaze
his way through the karting ranks.
CR Scuderia will run two Ferrari 430s in the GT2 class of the FIA GT
Championship in 2008; one car for Andrew Kirkaldy and Rob Bell and
one for Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen. The FIA GT Championship is an
ambitious target for a team in its first year of competition but CRS
has four drivers who are all proven winners at that level of racing.
The team will also run a domestic programme in the British GT Championship,
which is familiar territory for CR Scuderia. Niarchos, Kirkaldy and
Mullen have all been British GT Champions in recent years and most
of the CRS team members have worked as part of a winning team in that
category. In 2008 the competition will be tough, especially between
the Ferrari runners, so CRS plans to field a team of exceptional drivers
in British GT. That team of drivers will be announced in due course.
Eight of CRS’ drivers will take a break from the team stand tomorrow
(Friday) when they move over to the karting hall to take part in the
2008 Racing for Charity Celebrity Kart Challenge. They will be competing
on behalf of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Whizz-Kidz, racing
against the likes of David Brabham, Allan McNish, Darren Turner, Gil
De Ferran, Johnny Herbert, Marino Franchitti, Jamie Green and Gary
Paffett, to name but a few. The racing will be close (and probably
dirty!) but it will be a lot of fun and will raise much needed money
for the charities concerned.
The brand new CRS website is now live. www.crscuderia.com is the place
to go for all the latest news and views from the team. All media are
welcome to visit the site to download high-resolution copyright-free
images for editorial use.
Lindsay Morle
See 2008 series calendar for British
GT Championship
Related Story 13.12.2007 - Positive First Test for British GT Newcomers, CR Suderia
