Munich, 15th July 2008. Formula BMW Europe returns to action this coming weekend (18-20.07) at Hockenheim. The seventh and eighth races of the season in the junior series will take place on the support programme for the Formula One German Grand Prix. A field of 29 drivers from 16 countries will do battle to record the best possible race results. Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez (Josef Kaufmann Racing), who leads the Formula BMW Europe standings on 164 points after four wins from six races, will be looking to extend his advantage over his nearest rivals Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing, 132 points) and Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing, 110 points).
Hockenheim will reveal who has enjoyed the best preparation for the race. Gutierrez has been on holiday in Greece with his extended family between the races at Silverstone and Hockenheim. Tambay, meanwhile, was in France to receive the results of his school-leaving exams – and had good news to celebrate. And Wittmann spent the week following the race at Silverstone on a one-week welding course as part of his car body manufacturing apprenticeship.
The three German competitors in Formula BMW Europe can look forward to a relatively short trip over to the next race. Hockenheim is just 140 km away from Bastian Graber’s (DE/AM-Holzer Rennsport) home in Niddatal, in the state of Hessen, Wittmann has 200 km to travel from Markt Erlbach near Nuremberg, and David Mengesdorf (DE/Mücke Motorsport) faces a 320 km journey from Wolnzach in Bavaria.
Hockenheim will witness a coming together of talents old and new over the race weekend. The young racers in Formula BMW Europe, who can get behind the wheel of a FB02 from the age of 15, will be able to sample the excitement as the most spectacular single-make competition in motor racing history – the BMW M1 Procar series – returns to the track. 30 years ago, this series was a breeding ground for young talent, just as Formula BMW Europe is today. The five fastest drivers from Friday practice for the Formula One GP would earn themselves a drive in the M1 race, while the 15 remaining 500 hp machines were piloted by up-and-coming young hopefuls.
List of drivers competing in Formula BMW Europe: Hockenheim.
No. Name Nationality Team
2 Carlos Huertas CO Double R Racing
3 Michael Christensen* DK Double R Racing
4 Rupert Svendsen-Cook GB Double R Racing
5 Marco Wittmann DE Josef Kaufmann Racing
6 Kazeem Manzur* GB Josef Kaufmann Racing
7 Esteban Gutierrez MX Josef Kaufmann Racing
8 Thomas Hillsdon* GB Motaworld Racing
9 Mathijs Harkema NL Motaworld Racing
10 Asad Rahman* AE Motaworld Racing
11 Daniel Juncadella ES Eurointernational
12 Facundo Regalia* ES Eurointernational
14 Alexander Rossi+ US Eurointernational
15 Doru Sechelariu RO Fortec Motorsport
16 William Buller GB Fortec Motorsport
17 Ramon Pineiro* ES Fortec Motorsport
18 Pedro Bianchini BR FMS International
19 Mihai Marinescu RO FMS International
20 Ollie Millroy* GB FMS International
21 Juan Cevallos EC Mücke Motorsport
22 David Mengesdorf* DE Mücke Motorsport
23 Philipp Eng+ AT Mücke Motorsport
24 Bastian Graber DE AM-Holzer Rennsport
25 Jazeman Jaafar MY AM-Holzer Rennsport
27 Adrien Tambay FR Eifelland Racing
28 Tiago Geronimi BR Eifelland Racing
29 Henrique Martins* BR Eifelland Racing
30 Kevin Breysse FR DAMS Team
31 Jim Pla FR DAMS Team
32 Joel Volluz+ CH DAMS Team
*Rookies
+Guest driver
