» V8s: GC600 grid finalised

Former F1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi will reunite with Tony D’Alberto at this year’s ArmorAll Gold Coast 600 round on the V8 Supercars championship calendar, bringing to end the speculation as to who would claim the last remaining seat at the popular October endurance event.

The identity of D’Alberto’s co-driver had remained a secret until now, with the Italian-Australian announcing that he has secured the services of Liuzzi, with whom he drove at last year’s event.

Liuzzi became the first current-racing F1 driver to join the V8 Supercars championship when he made his V8 Supercars debut last year. The pair retired in the first race and claimed a 19th-placed finish in the second 300-kilometre event around the streets of Surfers Paradise, and despite the lack of results, Liuzzi impressed with his speed in the unfamiliar car.

Perhaps it was this foray into tin-tops that prompted Liuzzi to join Italy’s premier touring car championship, the Superstars Series, this year.

Driving a C63 AMG Mercedes, Liuzzi is sensationally leading the championship standings with two rounds to go.

“V8 Supercars is always a dream category to me because I really enjoyed last year and performance and speed were good so I hope to repeat and become even stronger this year. I see that the team and Tony are having a stronger championship than last year so I hope we can aim for a big result,” Liuzzi said of his signing for this year’s Gold Coast 600.

The provisional entry list reads as follows:

2012 V8 Supercars ArmorAll Gold Coast 600 Provisional Entry List:

	Entry / Team	Driver	Co-Driver
1.	Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	Jamie Whincup	Sébastien Bourdais
2.	TOLL / Holden Racing Team	Garth Tander	Ryan Briscoe
3.	HIFLEX Racing / Tony D’Alberto Racing	Tony D’Alberto	Vitantonio Liuzzi
4.	Irwin Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	Lee Holdsworth	Simon Pagenaud
5.	Orrcon Steel / Ford Performance Racing	Mark Winterbottom	Will Power
6.	Trading Post / Ford Performance Racing	Will Davison	Mika Salo
7.	Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	Todd Kelly	Marco Andretti
8.	Team BOC / Brad Jones Racing	Jason Bright	Stephane Sarrazin
9.	SP Tools / Stone Brothers Racing	Shane van Gisbergen	Jeroen Bleekemolen
11.	Fair Dinkum Sheds / Kelly Racing	Karl Reindler	Franck Montagny
12.	Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	Dean Fiore	Gianni Morbidelli
14.	Lockwood Racing / Brad Jones Racing	Fabian Coulthard	Nicolas Minassian
15.	Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	Rick Kelly	Graham Rahal
17.	Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	Steven Johnson	Max Papis
18.	Team Norton / Dick Johnson Racing	James Moffat	Peter Kox
19.	Tekno Autosports	Jonathon Webb	Marc Lieb
21.	Wilson Security / Brad Jones Racing	David Wall	J. Campbell-Walter
22.	TOLL / Holden Racing Team	James Courtney	Darren Turner
30.	Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport	Taz Douglas	Mike Conway
33.	Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	Alexandre Prémat	James Hinchcliffe?
34.	Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	Michael Caruso	Ricky Taylor?
47.	Lucky 7 Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	Tim Slade	David Brabham
49.	VIP Petfoods / Dick Johnson Racing	Steve Owen	Boris Said
51.	Pepsi Max Crew / Kelly Racing	Greg Murphy	Justin Wilson
55.	The Bottle-O Racing Team / Rod Nash	David Reynolds	Nick Heidfeld
66.	Supercheap Auto / Walkinshaw Racing	Russell Ingall	Peter Dumbreck
91.	Tekno Autosports	Michael Patrizi	Lucas di Grassi
888.	Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	Craig Lowndes	Richard Lyons