The field of international co-drivers recruited for next month’s Armor All Gold Coast 600 is finally complete with confirmation that Vitantonio Liuzzi will return to the event with Tony D’Alberto.
The 31-year-old Italian was the star attraction on the streets of Surfers Paradise last year thanks to his then status as a current Formula 1 driver.
Liuzzi has since moved to the International Superstars Series, where he drives a Mercedes C63 for CAAL Racing.
Although closer to showroom specification than the V8 Supercars, the extra experience with a rear-wheel-drive, V8, saloon platform in the Superstars class is expected to improve Liuzzi’s form on the Gold Coast.
Liuzzi and D’Alberto scored a DNF and a 19th in the two Gold Coast races last year.
“I’m happy to be back in the series that keeps growing and is ultra competitive,” said Liuzzi of his second V8 Supercars appearance.
“V8 Supercars is always a dream category to me because I really enjoyed last year and performance and speed were good so I hope to repeat and become even stronger this year.
“I see that the team and Tony are having a stronger championship than last year so I hope we can aim for a big result this year.”
Added D’Alberto: “It’s great news to have Vitantonio confirmed to comeback to our team for the Gold Coast race.
“Our results last year really don’t really reflect the speed that he showed over the weekend. He improved every time he went out in the car and wasn’t far off the pace by the end of the weekend.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on how he has been going in the Superstars Series, and I’m not surprised to see that he’s leading it.
“When he came out last time, he was a current Formula 1 driver. Now that he has spent the year inside a tin top, I am sure that he will be even more competitive.”
Liuzzi currently leads the Superstars Series standings by 19 points with three events remaining, while D’Alberto sits 22nd in the V8 Supercars Championship.
See below for the complete entry list for the Armor All Gold Coast 600, to be held on October 19-21
TeamVodafone
Sebastien Bourdais (#1), Richard Lyons (#888)
Walkinshaw Racing
Ryan Briscoe (#2), Darren Turner (#22), Peter Dumbreck (#66)
Tony D’Alberto Racing
Vitantonio Liuzzi (#3)
Stone Brothers Racing
Simon Pagenaud (#4), Jeroen Bleekemolen (#9), David Brabham (#47)
Ford Performance Racing
Will Power (#5), Mika Salo (#6), Nick Heidfeld (#55)
Kelly Racing
Marco Andretti (#7), Franck Montagny (#11), Graham Rahal (#15), Justin Wilson (#51)
Dick Johnson Racing
Gianni Morbidelli (#12), Max Papis (#17), Peter Kox (#18), Boris Said (#49)
Brad Jones Racing
Stephane Sarrazin (#8), Nicholas Minnasian (#14), Jamie Campbell Walter (#21)
Tekno Autosports
Marc Lieb (#19), Lucas di Grassi (#91)
Lucas Dumbrell Motorpsort
Mike Conway (#30)
Garry Rogers Motorsport
James Hinchcliffe (#TBA), Ricky Taylor (#TBA)
