FORMULA BMW WORLD FINAL DRAWS CLOSER IN MEXICO CITY

FORMULA BMW WORLD FINAL DRAWS CLOSER IN MEXICO CITY
02/12/2008

Munich, 2nd December 2008. This coming weekend, the "Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez" in Mexico City (MX) will play host to the spectacular highlight of the Formula BMW season: 21 talented young drivers from around the world will compete at the Formula BMW World Final for a chance to take a Formula One test drive with the BMW Sauber F1 Team.
Philipp Eng (AT), who came through to win last year's World Final, will enjoy his big moment as early as Thursday. The 18-year-old will head out onto the track in a Formula One car for the first time in his career. "I can hardly wait," says Eng. "Of course I have done some special preparation for this test. The strain on the neck muscles will be much greater than I am used to. However, I feel I am well equipped. My aim is to make a good impression and to enjoy the time in a Formula One car."

Mexican motorsport fans will see the BMW Sauber F1 Team in action on numerous occasions over the course of the weekend. Regular Formula One driver Robert Kubica (PL) will alternate with BMW Team Germany's Augusto Farfus (BR) from the World Touring Car Championship, who will make his second outing during the World Final weekend at the wheel of an F1 car since 2007. BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen will also attend the thrilling event in Mexico. Farfus' fellow BMW WTCC driver, Félix Porteiro (ES) from BMW Team Italy-Spain, will also travel to Central America.

Although the race weekend in Mexico City is dominated by the Formula BMW World Final, a whole host of interesting events appears on the support bill. Excitement is guaranteed, with well-known cars such as the BMW V12 LMR and the legendary BMW M1 all set to take to the track. In addition, a wide variety of entertaining off- track activities awaits the spectators.

Among other attractions, all participants in the Formula BMW World Final Lucky Draw, to be staged over the course of the weekend, will be eligible to win a taxi ride in a BMW 320si WTCC. Those fans who wish to prove their talents behind the wheel of a single-seater racing car and experience Formula BMW from a racing driver's perspective will be able to do so at the invitation of the Formula BMW Racing Experience.

Whether taking part in the "Ball in a Bowl" competition, participating in the "xDrive Experience" or marvelling at the skills of motorcycle acrobat Chris Pfeiffer (DE): The support programme of the Formula BMW World Final offers something for every taste.

Jim Pla claims Super Pole for Formula BMW World Final in Mexico.

Mexico City, 5th December 2008. Jim Pla (FR) secured an excellent starting position for what he hopes will be a successful Formula BMW World Final campaign. In single-lap qualifying at Mexico City’s “Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez”, the DAMS Team driver set a fastest lap time of 1:35.807 minutes, thus relegating the two Eurointernational drivers, Alexander Rossi (US) and Daniel Juncadella (ES), to second and third. Local hero Esteban Gutiérrez (MX) took fourth for Josef Kaufmann Racing.

“I have to admit I didn’t expect to be on pole,” said 16-year-old Pla after the single-lap contest. “On my best lap I didn’t make a mistake so the time was there and I am very happy. Tomorrow I hope for good races and maybe to win the Formula BMW World Final. I shall be careful in the heats but also keep an eye on the opposition. In any case it will be really exciting.”

Pla is on pole position for the first two intermediate heats on Saturday, followed by the other seven competitors in today’s Super Pole contest. The remaining grid positions for the first pair of heats is determined by the result of the qualifying session, which was held before the single-lap shoot-out and saw Juncadella finishing first in front of Pla and Rossi. The line-up for the Heat 3 grid on Sunday will be the results of Heat 1. Once the heats have been run, an overall points standing will determine the grid for the Formula BMW World Final.

Four exciting races await the 21 competitors, before the successor to Philipp Eng (AT), who drove a BMW Sauber F1 Team car on Thursday in recognition of last year’s victory, will be found. Rossi has set his sights on this ambitious goal. The Formula BMW Americas’ winner said: “First place would have been great of course. But the most important thing was to be in the top-5. From there you are in a promising position to finish at the front in the races. And then it’s all or nothing on Sunday. I’m really confident that we are well-prepared for the races.”

Juncadella was also satisfied, although he had his eyes on the top spot in the single-lap contest after claiming provisional pole in qualifying. “If you are first in qualifying, you want to stay there,” said the fourth-placed driver from this year’s Formula BMW Europe. “But it wasn’t to be. Four races lie in front of us, before we know the new champion. Anything can happen. I definitely want to win on Sunday.”

“The single-lap qualifying was very interesting,” added Gutiérrez who won the Formula BMW Europe title. “All in all, P4 is okay. I’m sure we will see plenty of overtaking manoeuvres in the heats and in the final race. I will give my all to move up into the lead in front of my home fans.”

Alexander Rossi wins Formula BMW World Final 2008 in Mexico.

Mexico City, 7th December 2008. Eurointernational’s Alexander Rossi (US) is the winner of the fourth Formula BMW World Final. At the “Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez“ in Mexico City (MX) the 17-year-old crossed the line 0.655 seconds ahead of second-placed Rookie Michael Christensen (DK). Local hero Esteban Gutiérrez (MX), Christensen’s team-mate at Josef Kaufmann Racing, also made it onto the podium by finishing third. As a reward for his victory, Rossi will be given a drive in a BMW Sauber F1 Team race car.

BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen, handed over the winner’s trophy, and commented: “Congratulations to Alexander Rossi. We have seen great, clean racing over the course of the weekend. Again many talented young drivers were racing, and we have seen three of them on the podium. Alexander drove a fantastic race and passed one car after the other. He deserves his win, but Michael Christensen and Esteban Gutiérrez can also look back on a strong weekend. I’m convinced that all three of them will have successful careers in international motor racing. Who knows, maybe they will knock on our door in Formula One in the future.”

With his victory Rossi put the icing on the cake of what was a perfect season for him. Thanks to ten race wins – three of them secured in the support programme of Formula One events – he took the Formula BMW Americas title before adding another important success to his tally in Mexico. “This has been the sweetest victory of them all,” said the young gun. “I coped well with the track from the first practice session and knew there would be a chance to win. However, then we experienced some ups and downs. The heats didn’t go as I had hoped, so I had to start from fourth on the grid. My start was horrible, and I lost a position. But I remained positive and improved lap-by-lap. Once I was in the lead it was all about making no mistakes.”

From the sixth lap of the final race Rossi drove in the top three, after overtaking Ollie Millroy (GB/Motaworld Racing). On lap 10, he also got past Gutiérrez, who lost the lead to Christensen at the start. Three laps later Rossi also passed the Dane – and drove home to a well-deserved victory. BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Rober Kubica (PL), who celebrated his 24th birthday in Mexico City on Sunday, was impressed with the performances of the 21 competitors. “It has been interesting watching the young drivers here,” commented the Pole. “They have a lot of hard work ahead of them if they want to get to the top of the sport, but Formula BMW is a great series to start in. Congratulations to all the drivers, as we have seen four good races.”

Christensen, who was in the lead for 12 laps, paid his respect to Rossi’s magnificent drive. The Formula BMW Europe’s Rookie Cup winner said: “I had a good final race, and I’m happy to be on the podium. In the end, my performance wasn’t quite good enough to make it to the top step. Alex was simply too strong today.” Gutiérrez was feeling positive after his home event, despite failing to add a second victory to his Formula BMW Europe title. “This weekend was good fun,” he said. “I had a lot of new experiences, and it was just great to feel the support of my fellow countrymen.”

Rossi, however, can now look forward to drive his maiden Formula One kilometres. “The very thought of driving a Formula One car makes me speechless,” he said. “Since I first saw Formula One, I have wanted to drive such a racing car. Now this dream becomes reality. When I watched last year’s winner Philipp Eng driving here in Mexico, I envied him a lot. It gave me tremendous motivation to follow in his footsteps. And that’s exactly what I did.”

Following Marco Holzer (DE), Christian Vietoris (DE) and Philipp Eng (AT), Rossi is the first Formula BMW World Final winner not hailing from Europe. For Mario Theissen this is a positive sign in the development of Formula BMW. He said: “It’s good to see a driver from America emerge as the winner this time. This proves that Formula BMW Americas is also very strong. I’m sure this result will help to make all three Formula BMW series even stronger.”