Kiwis Feature In Italian Automotive Awards

Voting has started for the 2007 ItaliaSpeed Italian Automotive Awards and amongst the nominees for people, vehicles and teams that have made the biggest contribution to the Italian car industry are Australians and Kiwis.

Leading, not unexpectedly, the Australian contingent is Casey Stoner, the 22 year old newly crowned World Champion from Tamworth in New South Wales. The Alfa Romeo-backed rider stunned audiences worldwide with his outstanding skill and maturity to take the MotoGP title and gift the manufacturers’ prize to Ducati.

Casey’s Kiwi competition for Italian sports person of the year comes from an unlikely direction – the sea. Yachtsman Neville Crichton has been nominated after his fourth highly successful season at the helm of the super maxi, ‘Alfa Romeo’, taking 16 race wins and setting new records across Europe during 2007. In doing so, ‘Alfa Romeo’ has raised the profile of the car maker and provided a highly successful and unique promotion for the brand.

With Italian car makers collecting so many world titles in 2007, the category for best racing car is full of successful cars, but one of them has a unique Australian feel. It was up to the Australian wing of Alfa Romeo to get the Alfa 159 out on the race track for the first time and give Alfa’s new sports sedan its first race win. Lead by Australian Alfa Romeo General Manager, David Stone, the Alfa Romeo 159 JTD 2.4 stormed to a class win in the Bathurst 12 hour race in 2007 and earnt its place in the 2007 ItaliaSpeed Italian Automotive Awards.

Voting in the ItaliaSpeed Italian Automotive Awards is open to all and may be done at http://www.italianawards.com/index.html. Winners will be announced in January.

ENDS

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