18.01.2004 ALFA ROMEO INTRODUCE THEIR DRIVER LINE-UP AND KICK OFF THEIR PRE-SEASON TEST PROGRAM AT MISANO

The Italian fans are happy, Fabrizio Giovanardi is back to Alfa Romeo. After he left the red team at the end of the 2002 season, as the reigning FIA ETCC champion, and joining BMW Team Italy-Spain, Giovanardi has retraced his steps.

“We could say that I’m back to the future! The point is that I want to restart where I left off. Which means being back in the fight for the European crown. Otherwise it wouldn’t make sense, and I better have stopped; particularly if we look at the poor season I had in 2003.” Throughout the last year, Giovanardi experienced a lot of up and downs. Only on a few occasions was he fighting for the podium positions, and his streak of successful seasons came to and end, with him he finishing the Drivers’ Championship in a disappointing ninth position. With no wins.

“I would not say it was a completely negative season, because I gained new experiences driving a different car, and using a different working method. And this might prove useful one day. Under some aspects it taught me something, because I had always worked for an Italian manufacturer, with an Italian mentality. I wanted to change, and I think that it was the worth trying, otherwise I would have had the doubt for the rest of my life. However, I have to say that it was a very frustrating season for my morale. I don’t want to speak about this. Let’s say I’m coming back after sabbatical year. I’m back, and eager to win again!”

Augusto Farfus jr. will be the youngest driver in the 2004 FIA European Touring Car Championship, he turned just 20 on last September. However he already boasts an impressive CV: eight titles won in as many karting seasons, champion in the 2001 Formula Renault Eurocup and the 2003 Euro F3000 Series. No surprise that, further to a test in Valencia, Alfa Romeo offered him a drive with the Autodelta works team.

“After winning in F3000, there are not many options for a young driver who wishes to compete at a professional level. There is Formula 1, and then there is ETCC. Formula 1 remains my goal for the future, but for now I’m quite happy for this opportunity of entering the ETCC through the front door. With Alfa Romeo and Autodelta I am at the top; they are a winning team, and racing for them will surely be a big boost for my career.”

Farfus will be teaming up with two Touring Car superstars: Gabriele Tarquini and Fabrizio Giovanardi who were crowned ETCC champions in the last two seasons. “It is like joining Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen in a Formula 1 team. From one side I am a bit in awe of them, but I know that this will give me a great chance to learn from the best men around. I will look at them, the way they work, and I will try to follow their advise to gain experience.

"This is a tough championship, and in my first season I’m aiming to grow up. I would be quite happy if will manage to obtain some podium results." Last week in Misano, the Brazilian youngster, joined Giovanardi and Tarquini as Autodelta presented their new line-up, and, completed his first proper test with his new team.