In the run-up to the 5th Fun Cup season race

Anniversary time in Hockenheim

Hanover, July 2007. The Uniroyal Fun Cup is set to drive on the legendary Formula 1 racing track in Hockenheim in the German region of Baden for the very first time. Many celebrities also lined up to take part in the five-hour main race at the celebrations of the 75 years of the track.

Here you can download the press release as a word-file (31 KB).

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A packed four-day anniversary programme is scheduled to take place as of 26 July at the Hockenheimring racing circuit to celebrate the track’s 75-year anniversary (www.hockenheimring.de). The Fun Cup racing cars, reminiscent of the legendary VW Beetle cars, will also be in attendance. On 28 July, the Fun Cup cars will compete in a five-hour race, the 5th championship race in Germany. Two days earlier, on Thursday, legendary racing motorcycles from the years 1932 to 1983 will race against each other, while the paddock will host a large cinema screen and after-film party. Friday is set to be packed full, with vintage car racing to keep you on the edge of your seat and lots to see: on the historic “race promenade” or in the Historic Daimler Classic lounge. On Sunday evening, it’s all go with the open air concert featuring German bands Pur and Reamonn and the Austrian singer Christina Stürmer.

Fun Cup administration will take place on Friday: with document acceptance from 12:00 p.m. and acceptance testing of racing vehicles from 2:00 p.m. Also at this time, the customary theoretical and practical licensing course will also be held. After all, the Fun Cup is a real motor sport for all. But even the Fun Cup requires a license to be driven. The two-hour training session will then commence at 5:30 p.m. The starting positions for the race will be drawn at the paddock party in the evening – as is usually the case at the Fun Cup.

Interest will then turn to the starting positions of the celebrity-driven vehicles. Celebrities expected to participate in the race include the TV stars the Ludolf vom Schrottplatz brothers, Tajana Gsell and Mola Adebysi, film baddie Claude-Oliver Rudolph, Harley expert Wolfgang Fierek, football trainer Winfried Schäfer and the actors Moritz Bleibtreu and Jürgen Vogel, and many more.

The grid formation is due to start at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, and the race at 12:30 p.m. prompt. And it’s then not just a question of outperforming the celebrity guest drivers but also of winning valuable championship points. The current leaders from Stoll Motorsport hold the best hand; with the Black Panther team lurking behind by just two points. Following its victory in Spa in Belgium, Gummi Grassau Racing only needs to gain five points, while Impuls 1 and MK Racing both need nine points.

The Uniroyal FunCup is a brand cup held in Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In Germany the 760-kg, 130-HP racing cars can be driven by anybody. The plastic vehicle body – a VW Beetle look-alike – conceals inexpensive mass-produced components contained in a specially designed tube-type chassis frame. A completely new vehicle costs around 34,000 euros. Interested parties should check out www.funcup.eu.

Starting in 1895, the Belgian rubber goods manufacturer Englebert produced tires for Continental AG and other companies. After merging with US Rubber in 1958, the company changed its name to Uniroyal Englebert. Uniroyal, the inventor of the rain tyre, has been a European brand of Hanover-based Continental AG since 1979.

The Continental Corporation is a leading supplier of brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics, tyres and technical elastomers. In 2006 the corporation realized sales of EUR14.9 billion. At present it has a worldwide workforce of more than 87,000.