Brazilian Racing News: Superturismo
2 January 1998
After a successfull 1997 season, the Superturismo will have more cars and more drivers in 1998. The Superturismo was "born" in Argentina in the second semester of 1996. So, it was no surprise to see only argentinian drivers for the first race of the season. The favorites were Oscar Larrauri, Ricardo Rissati and Jose Luiz di Palma, all former F-1 drivers and Osvaldo Cocho Lopez. After 10 races, Larrauri was champion, followed by Cocho Lopez and Javier Balzano. The surprise of the season was Brazilian driver Flavio Nono Figueiredo, who missed 4 races and finished 3rd in points. Figueirado tied with Balzano. Flavio opened the way to other brazilian drivers, and 1998 will see Ingo Hoffmann (former F-1 driver), Helio Saraiva, Paulo Gomes, Xandi Negrao, Caca Bueno, and Ariel Barranco racing in the series. The 1998 Sudam Championship confirmed already the Vectras (GM), BMW 320i, Alfa 155, Dodge Stratus, Peugeot 406, Mondeo, Audi A4 and Toyota Corona. "The main reason for all this success are the cars (which are very even) and the low costs of the season for the drivers" said Alan Magalhaes, promoter of the Sudam Championship. "The Stock Car season in Brazil costs around US$ 550,000 for the season, and the SUDAM costs US$ 250,000 and your image is broadcast to all South American countries" completed Alan. The season calendar will be released at the end of January, but they already confirmed 5 races in Brazil and Argentina and 1 race in Chile and