Fiat Automóveis has announced at a big event in São Paulo in the presence of Ferrari F1 pilot Felipe Massa and the CEO of Fiat Group Latin America Cledorvini Bellini, two new exciting new categories for the Brazilian motorsports calendar.

Fiat Automóveis in partnership with RM Racing Events announced today at a big event in São Paulo in the presence of Ferrari F1 pilot Felipe Massa and the CEO of Fiat Group Latin America Cledorvini Bellini, two new exciting new categories for the Brazilian motorsports calendar in 2010.

The country next year will experience a totally new motorsports scenario with the launching of Racing Festival, a competition that will consist of two car categories – Formula Future Fiat and Trofeo Linea. The championship will bring together state-of-the-art technology at a low cost and pilots from all over the country. The first race of the new series will get underway next April.

Racing Festival has the Ferrari F1 pilot Felipe Massa as its main supporter. The aim is to structure a category to give the best chance for new talents of the national motoring the ideal opportunity to follow a career from karting up to the main formula categories in Brazil and then abroad and towards F1.

"Formula Future Fiat is innovative for having the characteristic of  being 100 percent a school. I totally believe in this format. The pilots will have the same conditions throughout the championship at a high level of structure, what is very important for all of them is to learn technology and gain sporting experience in their careers. In other words, all will be following the best road to grow in motorsports," declared Felipe Massa in the press conference.

Mr. Carlos Henrique Ferreira, responsible for motoring of Fiat in Brazil, agreed with him. "We believed that Racing Festival will be of great importance for national motoring for offering two new categories that bring high technology but in an accessible format."

Racing Festival's stages will be accomplished at weekends in a traditional double round format, which means the first race on Saturday and the second on Sunday, each disputing the same number of points for the general classification. The pilots will have the same organisation and logistics during the whole weekend, the management believe that is the best balance between cost reduction and competitiveness.

Beyond the two car categories the Racing Festival will have another attraction, the 600 SuperSport class for motorcycles. Racing Festival will have a great organisation and the ability to receive thousands of people in general areas, corporate paddocks, uniformed VIP locations and hospitality centers.

Racing Festival Categories

Formula Future Fiat: This category will be reserved for young talented pilots using a brand new monocoque chassis produced by French manufacturer Signatech out of carbon fibre, and featuring a 5-speed sequential gearbox produced by French transmission manufacturer Sadev, a new 1.6 1litre 6 valves engine with an output of 150 hp developed by Fiat Powertrain Technologies at the Campo Largo unit in Brazil which will run on alcohol.

Trofeo Linea: For experienced and new pilots in the touring car category. The model used as a basis will be the recent launched mid-sized luxury sedan the Fiat Linea, which will receive several mechanical and aerodynamics modifications, while the engine will be the T-Jet 1.4 litre 16 valve unit, now with an output of 215 hp.

600 SuperSport: Ten teams with two pilots each are set to dispute an exciting new championship using with the same equipment and technical support provided by the organisation. This category has as its main objective to strengthen the motorcycle racing scene in Brazil.

Racing Festival is sponsored by Fiat and co-sponsored by Pirelli and Fiat Powertrain Technologies, with the approval of the Brazilian Confederation of Motoring and the accomplishment of RM Racing Events.

by Claudio Perlini