FORMULA BMW WORLD FINAL DRAWS CLOSER IN MEXICO CITY
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Printed Date: 02-May-2024 at 04:56
Topic: FORMULA BMW WORLD FINAL DRAWS CLOSER IN MEXICO CITY
Posted By: kbannon
Subject: FORMULA BMW WORLD FINAL DRAWS CLOSER IN MEXICO CITY
Date Posted: 04-December-2008 at 21:26
FORMULA BMW WORLD FINAL DRAWS CLOSER IN MEXICO CITY 02/12/2008
Munich, 2nd December 2008. This coming weekend, the "Autódromo Hermanos RodrÃguez" 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.
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Posted By: kbannon
Date Posted: 08-December-2008 at 21:21
Philipp Eng drives his maiden Formula One kilometres in Mexico City.
04-12-2008 Press Release
Mexico
City, 4th December 2008. A dream came true for Philipp Eng (AT) today
at the “Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez”: The 18-year-old completed a
total of 26 laps at the wheel of a BMW Sauber F1 Team car on the former
Formula One track in the heart of Mexico City (MX). Eng earned his
chance for this drive last year when he won the Formula BMW World Final
in Valencia (ES). Starting on Friday, 21 talented youngsters from the
three international Formula BMW series will try to follow in his
footsteps.
Eng was absolutely delighted with his appearance for the BMW Sauber
F1 Team. He said: “This has been a fantastic experience. I quickly got
used to the car and gained confidence with every kilometre. You soon
work out where the ideal points are for gear shifting, and also learn
the perfect braking points. It’s a very nice feeling if you can improve
lap-by-lap.”
Before Eng, Marco Holzer (DE) and Christian Vietoris (DE) had also
been rewarded with a Formula One testing opportunity following their
victories in the 2005 and 2006 Formula BMW World Finals. Nico Rosberg
(DE), Ho-Pin Tung (CN) and Sebastian Vettel (DE) are three former
Formula BMW drivers who also gained their first Formula One experiences
with the support of BMW.
Eng added: “A big thank you goes to BMW for giving me this great
opportunity to drive an F1 car. I was mostly impressed by the brakes.
The deceleration of such a car is very extreme – and better than any
other car I have driven so far in my career. This test gives me a
massive motivational boost to continue working with the same
determination as in the past years.”
The first free practice session on Friday from 09:30hrs will open
the official programme for the Formula BMW World Final 2008. The
competitors will have plenty of track time thanks to an interesting
event format, which includes four practice sessions, qualifying, a
super pole competition and three heats. On Sunday it’s then time for
the final race, which is the conclusion of the successful 2008 Formula
BMW season.
For the first time, the young-gun series visits the American
continent for this unique event. “To do my maiden Formula One drive
here in Mexico City obviously added a lot to the special atmosphere”,
confirmed Eng. “This track has a long history and many great champions
have celebrated victories here. I’m convinced the competitors in this
year’s Formula BMW World Final will also be especially motivated to
score a great result here.”
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Posted By: kbannon
Date Posted: 08-December-2008 at 21:22
Jim Pla claims Super Pole for Formula BMW World Final in Mexico.
05-12-2008 Press Release
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.”
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Posted By: kbannon
Date Posted: 08-December-2008 at 21:23
Victories for Gutiérrez and Juncadella in Formula BMW World Final heats.
06-12-2008 Press Release
Mexico
City, 6th December 2008. Esteban Gutiérrez (MX) and Daniel Juncadella
(ES) are the favourites for securing pole position for the Formula BMW
World Final 2008, after claiming a victory and a third place each in
the two heats held at Mexico City (MX) today. With three points each,
the two young drivers jointly lead the points’ classification which
determines the starting grid for Sunday’s final race.
Gutiérrez won the first intermediate heat for Josef Kaufmann
Racing. His team-mate, Michael Christensen (DK), finished second, and
is the best-placed Rookie of the day. Eurointernational’s Juncadella
crossed the line in third after 16 laps. In the second heat, Gutiérrez
and Juncadella finished in reverse order with Alexander Rossi (US), who
is also racing for Eurointernational, coming second in the middle of
the two drivers from Formula BMW Europe.
“I’m really happy about how this day went for me,” said Gutiérrez.
“We were competitive in both heats, despite taking a rather
conservative approach, as I didn’t want to risk a promising grid
position for the final. One win is in the bag – and I want to add some
more tomorrow.” Gutiérrez was involved in a thrilling battle with
pole-sitter Jim Pla (FR/DAMS Racing) and Christensen. At the start he
took the lead from Pla, but the Frenchman launched a successful
counterattack on lap eight. Christensen worked his way up from fifth on
the grid and passed his team-mate on lap 12 before also getting by Pla
a lap later. Only on the final lap of the race Gutiérrez managed to
take the win away from Christensen by overtaking the Dane.
Pla was also on pole position for the second heat. However, a jump
start and the resulting drive-through penalty saw his hopes for victory
end early in the race. So the way was open for Juncadella. “My great
start laid the foundation for my win in heat 2,” said the driver who
finished fourth in Formula BMW Europe. “I passed Jim Pla and kept the
lead right until the finish. I was also among the front-runners in the
second race. Of course I have high hopes for tomorrow now. It’s all
about not risking too much in the final heat – and then give your all
in the final.”
Rossi’s tally is six points, just behind Gutiérrez and Juncadella
and still in with a chance for pole position. The Formula BMW Americas’
overall winner said: “Heat 1 was not my best race. I had a poor start,
but was able to recover a lot of positions. In the second race, I got a
great start and the car was awesome. Within six or seven laps I was up
to second so I could not be happier.” The young guns will line up for
the third heat on Sunday morning, before competing in the Formula BMW
World Final from 14:50hrs local time (20:50hrs GMT).
At the World Final it was announced Formula BMW will return to
Mexico in 2009. Formula BMW Americas will hold rounds supporting the
FIA World Touring Car Championship in Puebla (MX) on 21st/22nd March.
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Posted By: kbannon
Date Posted: 08-December-2008 at 21:24
Alexander Rossi wins Formula BMW World Final 2008 in Mexico.
07-12-2008 Press Release
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.”
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