Hockenheim (Germany) – It was a memorable Sunday for Solaris Motorsport in Hockenheim, full of emotion and satisfaction. On the German track, the Italian team made an amazing one-two with its Chevrolets Camaro and Lumina letting Francesco Sini to clinch the EuroV8 Series title. The orange Chevrolets were able to beat in their home-track the Audi Sport Italia RS5s and the unlucky Nicola Baldan’s Mercedes. The Solaris Motorsport scored also an excellent second place in Team standings, just ten points behind Audi Sport Italia, despite the evident disparity of the forces involved.

Francesco Sini landed in Germany third in standings with a 13 points gap to recover. The road to success seemed early tricky when, after a good free practice sessions, the points’ leader Tomas Kostka got the best time in qualifying, by adding one more point on his score. A 14 points gap and very competitive opponents in a track that should have been in favour of the powerful 500+ hp V8 Chevrolet engines, built by SC Technology, could have discourage the biggest optimists, but the motorsport is a continuous game of chessing with the fate, where the final move is only decided after the checkered flag flies.

Neither the best Hollywood screenwriter could have imagined a race more intense and exciting with the amazing lap featuring the side by side duel between Sini and Kostka who got the thousands of German fans excited on the grandstands and the twists until two laps to go, when the title took the way of Sini. After the second place in qualifying, the driver of Camaro had an unique possibility: winning and hoping the rivals didn’t get the podium. So Sini started strongly, keeping faith to his nickname “Ringhio”, leading all the race from the second turn to the end, blocking every overtaking attempts made by Kostka. The safety car, entered to let the marshall remove the cars involved in Mugelli’s crash, didn’t throw away the focus of the italian driver and, after a perfect restart, he crossed the finish line doing checkmate, getting the race and the championship, helped by the technical failure of Kostka RS5 who lost the third position in the race and the head of the championship with only two laps to go.

“It’s an indescribable emotion, I never thought of living a weekend like this. I knew we had the potential to win, but a heartbreaker race like this one really no. – said the new EuroV8 Series Champion, Francesco Sini – This is a special victory, it’s my succes as a driver, it’s the triumph of Camaro as a car, it’s the consecration of Solaris Motorsport as a team. A fabolous team, made by extraordinary men, able to put the heart before the professionality. I done to me a wonderful gift for my birthday, but my thanks are for our engineers, who will never be grateful enough, for the sponsors that gave us an importants help, for all our fans that supported us every day and for my father and my family, for the big effort they made. I want to thank also Giovanni Berton and Mimmo Schiattarella, they made incredible things with the Lumina, showing to the world the big potential it has, conquering 5 podiums in 6 races. Winning the title with a one-two of my team is fantastic, I could not have ask anything more beautiful. It was an pleasure and an honour fighting with Nicola Baldan and Thomas Kostka this year.”

Giovanni Berton was the other big hero of the day. The Italian driver, who made his debut with the American sedan under the rain of Sachsenring, was author of a fantastic start, when he moved from P4 to P1 before the Nord Kurve, giving away then his position to his team mate. Overtaken by Kostka Audi in the hairpin, Berton did great during the restart after the safety car when he overtook the rival with a fantastic two turn long attack from the hairpin to the Mercedes Arena, with a little contact. Under the checkered flag the Lumina was second, celebrating an historical one-two that get the Solaris men crazy on the pitwall.

“It was a big results for all the team, we have reached the maximum goal when it seemed quite impossible, seeing the Audi performance also on this track. I’m very happy about my race, I was very fast with a known recently car and I’m very proud to being able to help Francesco for the championship, beating the direct rivals. – said a solid Giovanni Berton – The contact with Kostka was a simple and non voluntary race contact, and the marshalls have confirmed it two times. It was a pity if someone would have think something different.I want to thank all the Solaris Motorsport team for this wonderful experience in the EuroV8 Series, i discovered a team very professional and very human, like a real family racing team. Now I will continue my commitments with Dinamic Motorsport.”

For Roberto Sini, Team Principal of the Italian team, the emotion is big, overtaken only by the satisfaction to have beaten on the track such strong opponents: “What I feel is unwritable, it’s a satisfaction without equals to be able with a little factory like us to beat a big team like Audi Sport Italia. And furthermore, we beated them with a home made car! From this year the Camaro is all an internal project, engine and gearbox included, and this make more sweeter the taste of victory. Francesco made an excellent season, he was able to react from the very hard days, he attacked when was the right moment and he is well defended when we had to be happy. Berton and Schiattarella were two extraordinary teammates and they were able to set great performances behind the wheel of the Lumina bringing for the team pivotal points for the Team standings. Unfortunately we couldn’t ge the Lumina on the track in every race, otherwise we could probably fill that gap of only 10 points that has relegated us to the second position among the teams. – said Roberto Sini, who brings another European title after the Radical one in 2008 – At the end of a such emotional and exciting season I must give more sincere compliments to all Solaris guys for the work and the efforts made, as the time when they come into the factory on Easter and Easter Monday to rebuild the Camaro crashed in Mugello. But I am also thanful to all the people who supported us including our sponsors giving us the chandce to race in the best way possible, to all the many special fans we have. Their heat give us a big oush every Sunday! And now, we have to start to think to 2015!”

For all the fans, the next date is in Place Salotto in Pescara for the Coppa Acerbo historical revival. The two Solaris Motorsport Chevrolets, that were able to set in this season 10 podiums in 10 races – a record!- will be exposed in the week end, obviously the new EuroV8 Series Champion Camaro will be available for all the fans!

Massimiliano Palumbo