Alpines

Sparco debut new mechanics helmet at Estoril Elms last round and wins the championship with ALPINE-SIGNATECH

Global race wear specialists Sparco debuted a brand new piece of safety apparel at this weekend’s European Le Mans Series finale at Estoril in Portugal.

The Italian firm unveiled a brand new mechanics helmet with the Signatech-Alpine team to complement its existing supply of race suits, which has seen the Sparco name present on the podium during the competitive 2014 season.

The reigning ELMS champions, Signatech-Alpine, who have been a long standing partner of Sparco’s, have been used the new helmets throughout the weekend, the great final round of this winning season.

Sparco had a very successful 2014 race season with involvement in all forms of motorsport from Formula One and GP2 Series to World Endurance and World Rally and ELMS. This latest addition to the Sparco portfolio will further enhance the company’s product range.

Citroen

Sparco and Citroen Racing - a perfect combination!

Now it's official! SPARCO and CITROËN RACING will line up together at the start of the next FIA World Rally Championship and FIA World Touring Car Championship.

An important agreement for Sparco that confirms its leadership in Motorsport.

Citroën Racing, one of the most successful team in WRC with 8 manufacturers titles, is also entering for their second season in the FIA WTCC that saw it as the winner of the 2014 Championship both in the constructors and drivers titles thanks to José Maria Lopez.

The basis of this partnership have been the uniqueness of the results obtained from the SPARCO research. Our product offering, is increasingly innovative and safe, and our very personalized service, led Citroën Racing to choose Sparco as Technical Partner.

A proud Claudio Pastoris, C.E.O. of SPARCO, said: "Thanks to agreements with top carmakers such as Citroën Racing, we can progress in terms of product development achieving high levels in terms of safety and performance. Investments, however, would not be sufficient if they were not supported by a strong passion and a great enthusiasm. I think that also Citroën Racing, like us, matches class, innovation and quality values that are the lifeblood of two major groups like ours."

Renault

Renault and Sparco - Drive the change!

Sparco, confirms its future strategy as a way to guarantee the Group's continuity and development, announcing, with a three-year contract, an important partnership with Renault Sport Technologies.

Renault Sport is the Official "racing department" of Renault that for decades has been engaged in single-brand Championships in the lower categories of the WRC, in which they have always been successful.

The relationship with Renault Sport confirming Sparco as the Technical Partner offers us a great opportunity to dress Renault drivers. Sparco joins the Car Manufacturer in the Clio Cup single-brand championship and Clio Trophy Championship at both national and WRC3 level. In the World Series by Renault, Sparco already supply some drivers participating in the championship.

Mentioning the slogan that has always characterized the Car Manufacturer, we are certain that, without being presumptuous, this new partnership will "Drive the change." Both companies, in fact, are based on the continuous technological development and on the certainty of their know-how, the solidity of the company and the potential success of each Partner.

Claudio Pastoris, C.E.O. of Sparco, comments: "The true engine of Sparco is the R&D; department, we invest significant resources to improve the quality and performance of all our products. Behind it all, however, there is a deep passion for racing and we are thrilled and honored to work with a partner such as Renault Sport that like us shares the same challenge to continuously innovate."

Tony Kart Team

Sparco celebrates impressive karing championshit with Tony Kart

Sparco is this week celebrating another fantastic title on four wheels – this time with Tony Kart in the highly rated karting championship.

For international racewear specialists Sparco, with a proven heritage across all forms of motorsport, karting represents an important foundation for rising race stars to cut their teeth in competitive racing.

Throughout the entire 2014 season, Sparco has joined legendary karting firm Tony Kart on the podium with numerous victories on karting tracks around the world. It is therefore fitting that the two companies can celebrate a championship title together.

One such karting talent is Luca Corberi, a 17 year old who has won this year’s 25th Lonato Spring Trophy. Team Tony Kart-Vortex also won the KZ World Championship with the formidable Marco Adigo, who triumphed in Naples ahead of his team-mate Flavio Camponeschi. This was particularly satisfying for the team and for Sparco since this is the first KZ championship that has been given World Championship status.

This year’s success marks the 18th World title for Tony Kart and for Sparco it is the reassurance that all of its products are able to assist drivers in reaching their optimum performance from karting right the way up to Formula One.

Sparco’s Karting Manager Marcello Tagliaferri said: “We are delighted to be sharing with Tony Kart such a prestigious title success this year. The reputation that Tony Kart has in karting is second to none, which reflects the strength of the Sparco brand at this important foundation level of motorsport. We are pleased to see Sparco represented by some of the future motor racing stars in karting, as well as up through the ranks of World Endurance, World Rally, Nascar, GP2 Series and Formula One. It is a testament to our product range but moreover reinforces Sparco’s commitment to motor racing at all levels.”

Rally

Sensational podium succes for Sparco after busy rally weekend

A busy weekend of rallying has seen yet more Sparco presence on the podium following the World Rally Championship round in Spain and European Rally Championship in Switzerland.

In WRC, Rally Spain saw a fantastic third place finish for M-Sport World Rally Team with a superb drive by Mikko Hirvonen. Wearing Sparco’s high performing overalls, the Finn secured his first ever podium finish in WRC in the event back in 2005 so it was a fitting venue for his latest podium result, in the 50th running of the Spanish WRC round.

The result helped to strengthen Hirvonen’s fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship, as well as the Sparco-supported team’s position in the Manufacturers’ classification.

In the ERC, the latest round the popular championship saw a resounding triumph for Sparco-backed drivers with a clean sweep of the podium positions in Rallye du Valais.

Esapekka Lappi and Sepp Wiegand will battle for this year’s FIA European Rally Championship at the final round in Corsica next month after the Skoda Motorsport stars finished first and third respectively in Switzerland on Saturday. Second place in this weekend’s penultimate round of the series went to Craig Breen, another Sparco wearer, who scored nine stage wins and picked up the prestigious Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy for the Peugeot Rally Academy.

Sparco’s Motorsport Manager Daniela Vignale said: “What a fantastic weekend of rallying in both the WRC and ERC; it has been incredible to see so many Sparco supported teams and drivers perform strongly this weekend. In the Spanish WRC event, it was a privilege for us to see Sparco-supported M-Sport World Rally Team on the podium with Mikko Hirvonen in third place. Podiums are always special and it’s a special feeling to see the Sparco name on the WRC podium. In ERC, we had a clean sweep on the podium which is a real reflection on the strength of our partners teams and drivers. We now look forward to a thrilling season finale in both WRC and ERC but with two Sparco backed Skoda Motorsport drivers fighting for the ERC in Corsica, we know it will be an event for us to celebrate!”

Formula E

Sparco on top in second FIA formula E race as Sam Bird wins in Malaysia

The second round of the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship took place on the streets of Putrajaya in Malaysia this weekend with the Sparco name at the forefront of the action.

Qualifying for the all-electric racing series saw tremendous performances from the Sparco backed Dragon Racing squad as Oriol Servia finished in second place. However, that runner-up position was elevated to pole position after the provisional pole sitter, Nico Prost, had a grid penalty applied from the dramatic opening race of the new series in China.

It was an all-Sparco front row, as Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird moved up into second place on the grid after all penalties were imposed. With all eyes on the front of the pack, Bird took control of the Formula E Putrajaya ePrix from the start and never looked back, winning by an eventual 4.175s margin.

Sparco are Official Technical Wear Partner for the Virgin Racing Formula E Team so took delight in sharing the team’s maiden Formula E victory on Saturday. It also represented the second consecutive podium for Bird in the exciting new series and sees him second in the overall driver standings after the first two rounds.

Bird’s team-mate Jaime Alguersuari finished ninth in the race but set the quickest lap in the Putrajaya street race to secure an additional two points for the team. Virgin Racing now has 44 points and sits second in in the Team Championship.

2014 GP2 Champion

Sparco's Jolyon Palmer becomes 2014 GP2 series champion in Russia

The inaugural Russian Grand Prix has seen DAMS driver Jolyon Palmer crowned GP2 Series Champion for 2014.

The Sparco-wearing driver, who was named winner of the maiden Sparco GP2 Award at last month’s Italian Grand Prix, required a win to clinch the title and he achieved his objective by claiming victory Saturday’s feature race.

The Brit put in another of his masterful performances in the 28 lap race around the new Sochi Autodrom in Russia, a spectacular new venue for motor racing developed on the site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games Park. Palmer’s win ensured that a Sparco driver has become the tenth ever GP2 Series champion with the final rounds of the season taking place at Abu Dhabi next month.

In Sunday’s 21-lap Sprint race, MP Motorsport’s Marco Sorensen claimed his first ever GP2 win wearing Sparco’s Superleggera race suit, making it a double race and Championship winning weekend for Sparco in Sochi. ART’s Stoffel Vandoorne, also wearing Sparco, finished in second on Sunday, adding more Sparco presence to the podium.

In Formula One, Sparco’s partner team McLaren-Mercedes enjoyed one of its strongest race performances of the season as Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen finished in fourth and fifth positions. The result saw McLaren Mercedes move back into fifth in the Constructors’ Championship with three race weekends left to run this season.

Sparco’s thoughts and wishes continue to be with Jules Bianchi, his family and the entire Marussia F1 Team.

Sparco was also present in the FIA World Endurance Championship this weekend supporting numerous teams and drivers in Six Hours of Fuji race. The highlight of Sunday’s race was a second placed finish in the competitive LMP2 class for the KCMG team, giving Sparco another endurance podium result. The next WEC round takes place in China at the end of October.

Podium

All championships have started and Sparco is proudly back on the world circuits’ podiums.

The most recent victory was last weekend in Bahrain with an all Sparco GP2 podium: the winner Rio Haryanto, Campus Racing followed by Stoffel Vandoorne, Art Grand Prix and Nathanael Berthon for Lazarus.

But the past weekend was a really rich one and even WTCC in Morocco offered a full Sparco podium with Yvan Muller first, Sebastien Loeb second and José Maria Lòpez third, all with the Citroen C- Elysée, and on the other side of the Ocean, at the Bristol circuit for Nascar Nation Wide, we had Sparco on top with Matt Kenseth!

And a few weeks ago, Alessio Rovera, Davracing, was the winner at Jerez de la Frontera, the first race of the Formula Open Championship 2015.

Instead, in Italy, our Ucci & Ussi cheered us up at the 62nd Sanremo Rally ranking first on a Peugeot 208 and we applauded the young Michele Tassone for the first time, Sparco and Peugeot once again.

And now on to the Eastern part of the world… to China, at the end of the Red Bull China Drifting Battle, Sparco was on the highest podium step thanks to Naoto Suenaga and, in those same hours, Niccolò Rosso brings Sparco onto the podium with a wonderful third position at the Federal Tyres King of Asia.

Sparco races and wins!

Updates on the month’s sports results. Podiums, standings and rankings of Sparco pilots and teams in the 2015 competitions.

The championship season has just begun and Sparco is once again on the podiums of all racing and rally circuits.

Every week, thanks to the high number of competing Sparco teams and drivers, we can be satisfied with podiums and excellent results.

The season opened with a great victory at the Dakar 2015: the Kamaz-Master

Team finished on the podium in the truck category, one of the most impressive symbols of the Dakar race for both power and size. While in the car category, the Sparco colors made the podium thanks to Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz, with their second place for the Imperial Toyota Team Dakar.

Few days ago began the bigger championships WTCC, WRC, ERC and Nascar and in march warm up for... Formula 1, Formula E, CIR, BTCC and V8Supercars.

In addition to the Dakar 2015 podium, another prestigious podium in this new season was scored by Sebastién Loeb and Jose Maria Lopez, respectively first and second place in Argentina in the WTCC, and in the WRC, Mads Ostberg and Jonas Andersson finished in second place at the Rally Anajuato Corona, for the Citroen Racing team, to whom we send our congratulations!

Kevin Harvick

Style, energy and a bit of Sparco: Kevin Harvick wins the Nascar Sprint Cup 2014!

He’s Californian and he’s the new number one of Nascar Sprint Cup, the premier class of US racing. He’s able to attract crowds in all the oval circuits and get fill of sponsors and TV ratings: Kevin was the faster pilot in 2014 racing edition and the fastest in last race on Sunday, in the circuit of Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Team Stewart-Haas Racing.

"Happy Harvick", how he’s always ironically named, had to battle against Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon. Kevin led masterfully the latest curves bringing his Chevrolet on the top step of the podium.

A double satisfaction for Sparco, who always believed in ice-eyed Californian, and for Kevin that realized his lifetime dream.

Kevin, though, is more than a driver. His biggest dream is the Kevin Harvick Foundation (KHF) founded in 2010 with his wife, Delana, whose mission is to support children lives enrichment programs throughout the United States. The Foundation works to improve not only quality of life, but tries to help young people less fortunate to find and fulfill their dreams.

Pierre Ragues

The Extrema Rs-10 wins again and becomes the new costume for Sparco super heroes.

Pierre Ragues, Sparco ambassador, driver for NewBlood by Morand Racing, has claimed his first victory of the season in his second race with the team. Naturally Pierre was wearing Sparco's Extrema RS-10.

Ragues has a certain affinity with the Paul Ricard circuit - it was on precisely this track that he won the ELMS championship last year with the Signatech Alpine team. Yesterday's podium win adds to his already impressive curriculum.

The Signatech Alpine team has earned itself a great second place with the trio Nelson Panciatici, Paul-Loup Chatin and Oliver Webb. The drivers keep their lead in the final classification of the ELMS championship with 68 points, with only one race remaining before the end of the 2014 season - at Estoril in October.

The 4 hours of Paul Ricard gave Sparco the chance to demonstrate once again the technical characteristics of the Extrema Rs-10 suit, making it possible for drivers of Pierre Ragues' calibre to drive in the high temperatures of the south of France. The lightweight and comfort of Sparco's top of the range race suit places the company as leader and best innovator of competition suits.