A V8STAR is born.

A new NASCAR-like championship for privateers is all set to shake the German racing scene.

Two years ago, when German production car racing seemed to be grounded completely, new concepts grew in every corner. Michael Bernard, TV commentator Rainer Braun, former racing driver Christian Danner and TV regisseur Bernd Kraemer gave birth to the idea of a revitalised DTM - which came into fruition only one year later. Michael Schumacher?s manager Willy Weber and former Mercedes sporting director Jochen Neerpasch tried to establish a privately based EUROC series for roadster cars - and failed. And Ford?s former racing director Lothar Pinske joined forces with former Ford and BMW chassis engineer Thomas Ammerschlaeger and former racing driver Dieter Glemser to create an all new silhouette formula for Germany - which they did mostly in secret, with a glimpse of information breaking through only every now and then.

Nobody really gave the latter idea any realistic chance - because there was neither any interest from the manufacturers, as there was with the DTM, nor seemed there to be so much money involved as it appeared to be the case with 'Mr 20 per cent' Weber and his effort in EUROC.

The little public interest in Germany helped Pinske and Ammerschlaeger, who lost Glemser due to pressure from his current employer Mercedes but gained vastly experienced Alex Janda. They could work behind the scenes and managed to seal the most important deal. They persuaded professional driver Altfrid Heger to become involved with the new series. Heger, who competed his last series in Porsche Supercup with the team of Bavarian Harry Valier in 2000, developed an interest, became the new sporting director - and brought the necessary money with him through his step family Holthoff-Pfortner.

The business titan HOPF group, shareholder with Germany?s biggest TV station RTL as well as founders of Germany?s second biggest daily newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ), is also deeply involved with real estate, and agreed to back the new championship which, in the meantime, had found its name.

V8STAR, with STAR standing for Silhouette Touring Auto Racing, is the short version and the championship?s full name is not the only similarity to the American NASCAR championship. Both philosophy and technology are almost identical with North America?s most popular form of racing.

V8STAR will not use cars from different manufacturers. All cars will have the same tube frame chassis, built by Nitec, a sister company to the famous Zakspeed racing team. Nitec also builds the bodywork for the various cars - in the shape of an Opel Omega, a Lexus, an Audi A6 or a Jaguar S-Type. Although the carbon-fibre bodies look like the respective road cars, V8STAR carefully avoids any typical trademarks like the four Audi rings, Jaguar?s leaping cat or even the cars? original headlamps and indicators. No parts protected by law will make their way to the race cars.

"The most important part for us is that the cars only appear to look like the sisters from the road - but no more than that. We will always respect the manufacturers? trademarks", revealed Max Welti.

The Swiss engineer, formerly racing director with Porsche and team manager-cum-team director with the Sauber Formula One team, joined the board of V8STAR as new CEO in the late summer of 2000 - only weeks before the first prototype was taken to the track by Heger.

When the Essen native drove his first laps around the Nurburgring, the brand new car left an instant impression with every eye and, especially, ear witness. The 5.7-litre-V8 engine sounded much more aggressive and exciting than the 4-litre counterparts as used in DTM, which is not really a surprise given that the engines are all prepared by American tuner Jack Roush - a known quantity from NASCAR.

While NASCAR still uses different engines from Ford, Pontiac, GM and next year also Chrysler, V8STAR goes one step further. All cars will be fitted with one type of engine, prepared by NASCAR tuning legend Roush.

"The engine is a full Roush product," Welti insists, dismissing any links to a particular manufacturer.

The differences, which go down to the different dimensions of the cars? bodywork, are supposed to be levelled by adapted aerodynamics - wings in different sizes and diffusers with more or less chambers. With all cars being on an level playing field, the decisive factor should be the driver and his ability to work with the car?s set-up.

"We don?t necessarily want the car or the manufacturer to be the attraction of the championship," Welti explains, "If a car carries the colours of - let?s say - Kellogg's Cornflakes, it?s fine if the fans cheer on the Kellogg?s car instead of the Opel, Jaguar or whatever the bodywork reminds them of."

Nine races of 160km each, with a compulsory Safety Car period and pit-stop in between, and two separate classifications for the heat before and the run after the Safety Car period, will make up the inaugural season of V8STAR.

Costs for a car are low. A car kit only costs 265,000 Deutschmarks, with an engine adding another 72,000 Deutschmarks to the teams? bills. Even in a worst case season with plenty of accidents and repairs, a season should be no more than one million per year. High prize money of five million Deutschmarks per season makes the new series extremely attractive for any private team in Germany. Per race, a maximum of 58,000DM price money can be won by the most successful driver, while the best team may return home with a maximum of 341,250DM.

Not only sheer results are good for the drivers? bank accounts, however, as they can earn money with every single lap - which should make for good television coverage. The drivers' accounts could be covered in a similar way the developments of the single stocks on the market are updated in graphics on the bottom of the TV screen in business programmes.

Shortly after the first series tests at Estoril, where only minor teething problems disturbed Heger?s work, V8STAR was taken to the Essen Motor Show - Germany?s counterpart to Birmingham - in early December. After the Essen fair, V8STAR had already sold twelve cars.

That?s even more than I had hoped for prior to the trade," Welti recalled delightedly.

Official calendar - V8STAR 2001:

April 28 Oschersleben
May 12 EuroSpeedway Lausitzring
May 26 Nurburgring
June 6 Salzburg
July 21 Nurburgring
August 18 EuroSpeedway Lausitzring
September 9 Hockenheim
September 29 Nurburgring
October 13 Oschersleben