The wraps have come off the CR Scuderia cars at Autosport International, revealing a striking red, white and blue livery that carries across the team’s entries in the FIA GT and British GT series.

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 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.