Turkish delight for Superleague Formula

Superleague Formula has added 16-time Turkish League champions Galatasaray SK to its roster of major international football clubs that will line up on the grid for the championship’s debut in August next year.

Galatasaray SK will take its place on a 20-strong grid alongside AC Milan, FC Porto, Olympiacos, PSV Eindhoven, Borussia Dortmund, RSC Anderlecht, Flamengo and FC Basel in the new Superleague Formula championship that features 750 horsepower, V12-powered single seaters bearing the colors of the world’s leading football clubs.

Launched in April this year, the championship will kick off in 2008 with an initial six races staged at major circuits across Europe.

Graduates of a prestigious high school – with roots stretching back to 1481 – established Galatasaray SK in 1905.

Throughout its first 100 years, Galatasaray SK has acted as the country’s ‘gateway to the west’ – it is the only Turkish football club to achieve success in the international arena.

The Istanbul-based club won the UEFA Cup and Super Cup titles in 2000 and has regularly taken part in the European Champions League – competing ten times to date.

“Superleague Formula plans to welcome the best football clubs from right across the globe and we are thrilled to add Galatasaray SK to our grid," Superleague Formula President and CEO, Alex Andreu said.

“The club has a fantastic record and finished the last millennium with four consecutive league championships in Turkey.

"These are exciting times for the club – Galatasaray SK has a new stadium about to be built and now motor racing has been added to the club’s wide range of sporting endeavors including football, basketball, volleyball, water polo, rowing, swimming and athletics.

“The club has a huge impact in Istanbul. Not only in sport, but also in education with primary and secondary schools and a university bearing the Galatasaray name.

“Our dream for Superleague Formula is for these eternal football rivals to meet on track – aiming to score in a totally new sporting environment."

Three major club launches are scheduled for Flamengo in Rio, Brazil; RSC Anderlecht in Brussels, Belgium; and FC Basel in Switzerland in the next three weeks.

Additional club signings are set to be announced early in the new year.