Champions StarChase Flying High with TransAsia Airways
Shanghai, China (March 31, 2011) – Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Champions Team StarChase will be flying high with TransAsia Airways as they prepare for take-off in the region’s most prestigious GT motorsport series.
With exciting rising star Alexandre Imperatori, 23, in the cockpit of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racing car, Team StarChase will be looking to help TransAsia Airways celebrate their 60th anniversary with victory as the season gets underway at the 2011 FORMULA 1 UBS CHINESE GRAND PRIX in Shanghai next month.
TransAsia Airways is also partnering with Team StarChase at the second blue-riband event on the 11-race Porsche Carrera Cup Asia calendar at the 2011 FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX in September, where the ace China Porsche dealer team will be in action on the challenging Marina Bay street circuit.
Announcing the new partnership, StarChase Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Robby Niermann commented: “Team StarChase is delighted to be part of the TransAsia Airways 60th anniversary celebrations, and what better way to add to the excitement of the party than to partner with a team on the hunt for a record-breaking third championship victory? Team StarChase takes off on a new season as two-time and reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champions, and with an exciting new driver at the controls. The races in Shanghai and Singapore are going to be the most high-profile and thrilling of the year.”
TransAsia was formed in 1951 as the first private civil airline in Chinese Taipei. Today, it owns seven Airbus 320/321, and nine ATR 72, and in 2010 finalised plans to purchase Airbus A330 for delivery from 2012. Currently TransAsia operates five domestic routes, and international destinations currently served by regular and charter services include 12 cities across Macau, China, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia.
Says TransAsia Airways Director Mr. Lin Ming Sheng: “This year is TransAsia’s 60th anniversary, and a new start for the airline. Expanding and developing new destinations is our current focus. We are delighted to sponsor the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia again, and some of our lucky Legend Flight Club members will receive tickets to the races in Shanghai and Singapore where they will experience the thrills of an international motor race and the passion and energy of TransAsia Airways and Team StarChase.”
Shanghai-based Swiss racing driver Imperatori began karting at the tender age of four, becoming a multiple champion before graduating to junior single seater racing aged 16. A top five finisher in the prestigious Japan F3 Championship in 2010, he rounded off a stellar year with an extraordinary performance at the ‘world cup’ of the category, the FIA F3 Intercontinental Cup. He will bring his remarkable talent and impressive experience when he makes the switch to GT racing for Carrera Cup Asia campaign.
The Team StarChase and TransAsia Airways partnership blasts off the grid from April 15-17 at the state-of-the-art Shanghai International Circuit for the opening two races of the 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season.
StarChase Holdings was established in 2006, and opened the first of its Porsche Centers in China, in Nanjing, in 2007. The following year saw the establishment of its corporate office, StarChase Consulting, as well as the debut of Team StarChase in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia. The next two years saw operations begin at the Porsche Center Qingdao, and StarChase appointed to start operation of the Porsche Center Jinan. This year will see the grand openings of the Porsche Centers in Qingdao and Zhengzhou.
