KICKING TIRES; SUPERLEAGUE LINKS SOCCER AND RACING IN EUROPE-AND IT'S WORKING.(NEWS)

Byline: ADAM COOPER

Just as the A1 Grand Prix series season got off to a shaky start at Zandvoort (Competition, Oct. 6), a similar championship began to find its feet only three hours south, at Zolder in Belgium.

Zolder hosted the third round of the Superleague Formula's inaugural season, following recent visits to Donington Park in England and the Nurburgring in Germany. Superleague is similar to A1GP in concept, but instead of representing countries, teams run in the colors of major soccer clubs from around the world. The intention is to attract a different kind of fan to the sport and somehow take advantage of the passion that soccer generates. In the face of skepticism from much of the motorsports world, Superleague is up and runningand providing some pretty good racing.

The man behind the series is Briton Robin Webb, who tried to get the concept going as far back as 2000. Originally known as Premier One, the concept collapsed before a car turned a wheel. Webb then became involved in the birth of A1GP, which held its first race in 2005, but he never forgot his soccer ideait was a question of finding the right partner.

In 2004, he linked up with Spaniard Alex Andreu, a former Coca-Cola man who was involved with the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and other major properties while working at top sports-marketing company ISL. Together, they found some backing, mostly from Spain, although it took until now for everything to come together and for cars to hit the tracks.

Thus far, 18 soccer teams have signed up, from Spain, England, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Scotland, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Brazil, China and the United Arab Emirates. Missing are many of the sport's true giants, such as England's Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea and Spain's Real Madrid and Barcelona.

But there are some big names, including a number of national champions. The series also hopes that a team backed by Major League Soccer's L.A. Galaxy will materialize. The kicker is that soccer clubs provide their names and branding but do not put in any money. That comes from traditional sponsorship deals.