Joomla! site syndication http://bmwsport.net Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:24:55 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://bmwsport.net/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://bmwsport.net Joomla! site syndication http://bmwsport.net/content/view/919/30/ 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.” BMW Racing News - 2008 Formula BMW World Final Sat, 06 Dec 2008 23:00:00 +0100 http://bmwsport.net/content/view/918/30/ 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. BMW Racing News - 2008 Formula BMW World Final Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:00:00 +0100 http://bmwsport.net/content/view/917/30/ 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.” BMW Racing News - 2008 Formula BMW World Final Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:00:00 +0100 http://bmwsport.net/content/view/916/30/ 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.” BMW Racing News - 2008 Formula BMW World Final Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:00:00 +0100 http://bmwsport.net/content/view/915/30/ Munich, 18th November 2008. Despite the current Formula BMW season nearing its close, the action is due to follow thick and fast: This weekend sees Formula BMW Pacific contest its final race in Macau (MO), making it the last of Formula BMW’s three international driver development series to bring its year to an end. Thereafter the focus of the young drivers will fall on the highlight of the season. The fourth Formula BMW World Final, to be held at the “Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez” in Mexico City (MX) from 5th to 7th December 2008, offers the winner a unique prize – he will get the chance of a test drive in a BMW Sauber F1 Team racing car. Eight teams have entered a total of 20 drivers – representing the finest talents from Formula BMW Europe, Formula BMW Americas and Formula BMW Pacific – to race for the Formula BMW crown. Included in the field are local hero Esteban Gutiérrez (MX), and Alexander Rossi (US). Both are able to look back on very successful seasons: Gutiérrez claimed the title in Formula BMW Europe, of which seven of its eight races featured as support events at Formula One Grand Prix weekends, while Rossi’s victories in Montréal (CA) and São Paulo (BR) mean he scored three of his ten victories in front of Formula One crowds. Both these freshly crowned champions competed in the Formula BMW World Final 2007 – and have every intention of running up front in their second appearance this year. The final race of the BMW Motorsport season is not, though, popular only amongst the more experienced Formula BMW drivers. Numerous Rookies, who contested their first single-seater racing seasons in 2008, aim to leave lasting impressions during the Formula BMW World Final, and realise their dream of testing a Formula One racing car. Formula BMW Europe Rookie Cup winner Michael Christensen (DK) is travelling to Mexico, as is his peer from Formula BMW Americas, Gianmarco Raimondo (CA). Simon Moss (ZA), too, plans to follow up victory in the Rookie Cup category of Formula BMW Pacific with a further step on the career ladder. On Thursday, 4th December, the full impact of victory in the Formula BMW World Final will become vividly clear to the youngsters: Philipp Eng (AT), who won last year’s event in Valencia, will be granted his Formula One opportunity in Mexico. Media representatives may apply for accreditation for the Formula BMW World Final 2008 with immediate effect. Simply follow the link below, then complete the PDF form which can be submitted by fax or email (see press contact). List of confirmed drivers and teams: BMW Racing News - 2008 Formula BMW World Final Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:00:00 +0100