13.10.2004 Veteran racing driver Mike O’Sullivan debuted the new Fiat Stilo Abarth in Class B of the SA Production Car Championship at East London in particularly fine style

Veteran racing driver and Palio Racing Team manager Mike O’Sullivan debuted the brand new Fiat Stilo Abarth in Class B of the SA Production Car Championship at East London on the weekend (9 October) in particularly fine style.

O’Sullivan put smiles on the faces of the Fiat camp as the Stilo Abarth’s first outing resulted in an amazing third position behind the formidable Minis.

“Mike’s drive and preparation of the Stilo Abarth was phenomenal,” said Michael Burkhart, general manager for marketing at Fiat Auto SA.

“It is a great accomplishment to debut a brand new car on the podium against such stiff competition as the Minis, Fords and Toyotas.

"There is obviously still a lot of development work to do, but for the first time out we are extremely happy with the result. We started from the ground with the Palio Racing Team and built the cars into winning ones. We’re confident we can do the same with the Stilo Abarth.”

Heat Two saw the Stilo Abarth seize a shock absorber removing it from the leading pack, but the reliability and pace of the new car looks promising. The Fiat Stilo Abarth has just been launched onto the domestic market as the flagship of the Stilo range.

“We’re looking forward to Kyalami where we’ll be able to do some more development on the car,” said Burkhart.

“The more we can do with the track time this season, the more of a jump we have on next year’s season. There we will be able to compete as a group in every class of the SA Production Car Championship.”

Mike O’Sullivan will take the Fiat Stilo Abarth to Round 10 of the Vodacom Power Tour at Kyalami on 6 November.