Walker-Hansell and Howson convert poles to wins while Rookie winners are Hankey and Legris.
Rockingham, 22 May, 2005. Simon Walker-Hansell (Carlin Motorsport) and Matt Howson (Filsell Motorsport) mirrored their qualifying results as both drivers scored a win from pole. On top of that, to make it an even better weekend, they both claimed a second place. It was the Australian Motoaworld Racing driver Nathan Antunes who completed the podium for race one, while for race two it was Ireland's Niall Breen (Barwell Motorsport).

 

For Matt this second win of the season has promoted him to the top of the points table, so he now leads on 65 points, with Stian Sørlie (Fortec Motorsport) second on 62 and Nathan third on 56. Before the weekend Stian and his team-mate, Sam Bird, had been joint leaders, but both had a bad time at Rockingham. Sam suffered most. He was involved in a collision in race one and having to park his car on the side of the track due to a mechanical problem in race two was the final straw for him - he is now fourth in the points.

 

In the Rookie Cup it was Euan Hankey (Barwell Motorsport) who took the win in race one - his third of the season - while in race two it was Jonathan Legris (Pegasus Motorsport International) who took the win, despite a car that was not easy to drive and suffering from a lack of practice laps on the Friday.

 

Simon was ecstatic after both races saying: "Race one was one of my hardest ever races, especially as Matt was always in my mirrors. In the second race he got the best start, I felt I could have perhaps got him at the re-start after the safety car pulled off, but outbraked myself in the chicane so decided to be sensible." Matt was also happy, especially after a bad weekend at the previous race: "The track was very slippery in both races and we were both pushing very hard. For me the important thing was to get points, and these two results were just perfect."

Simon made no mistake at the start of race one leading Matt into the first corner. And finishing the first lap over two seconds ahead. However, behind them all was not calm as Sam Bird (Fotec Motorsport) and Duarte Felix da Costa (Carlin Motorsport) collided, which ended up with Sam retiring. While Duarte was able to continue, a lap later he then collided with Paul Rees (Team SWR Pioneer), whose car then stopped on the track near that of Sam. This time the Safety Car was employed to clear both cars away and Duarte retired in the pits. When the car pulled off at the end of lap eight Matt got the perfect start and stayed in the lead until the end of the race. Oliver Turvey (Team SWR Pioneer) was not able to repeat his 2004 success by winning the race, but he was able to move up from 12th on the grid to fifth.

 

For race two the tables were turned with Matt getting the good start and Simon following in his tyre tracks. The Safety Car was deployed again to retrieve Sam's car and when racing resumed the two cars were side by side going into the chicane. However, Matt held the line and stayed there to the end. There were again battles behind with third place hotly contested by a variety of drivers including Jonathan, Oliver Turvey (Team SWR Pioneer) and Niall who took the honours. Dean Smith (Nexa Racing) and Stian had a tussle which saw contact between them as they came down the pit straight. There were some good drivers through the field with Lars Viljoen (Team SWR Pioneer) moving up from 20th on the grid to 7th and Joe Osborne (Nexa Racing) completing his first incident free weekend.

 

The crowd was also entertained by ETCC champion Andy Priaulx doing demonstration runs in his BMW Team UK BMW 320i, the BMW Le Mans winning V12 LMR and the BMW WilliamsF1 Team car. His quickest lap in the F1 cars was nine seconds quicker than the Rockingham official lap record.

 

This week the Education and Coaching drivers will visit the BMW WilliamsF1 Team factory to listen to the team's Technical Director, Sam Michael, talk about vehicle dynamics. While there they will also learn about marketing and sponsorship.

 

Results - Round 5 - 15 Laps = miles.

 

1 Simon Walker-Hansell (GBR) (Carlin Motorsport) 30:10.038
2 Matt Howson (GBR) (Filsell Motorsport) 30:10.883
3 Nathan Antunes (AUS) (Motaworld Racing) 30:15.500
4 Stian Sørlie (NOR) (Fortec Motorsport) 30:15.879
5 Oliver Turvey (GBR) (Team SWR Pioneer) 30:16.098
6 Dean Smith (GBR) (Nexa Racing) 30:17.144
7 Ross Curnow (GBR) (Promatecme/Soper Sport) 30:18.246
8 Euan Hankey (GBR) (Barwell Motorsport) R 30:21.335
9 Jordan Wise (GBR) (Nexa Racing) 30:24.434
10 Niall Breen (GBR) (Barwell Motorsport) 30:27.054
11 Jonathan Legris (GBR) (Pegasus Motorsport Int) R 30:29.200
12 Matt Harris (GBR) (Team SWR Pioneer) 30:32.281
13 Callum MacLeod (GBR) Filsell Motorsport) 30:34.520
14 Michael Meadows (GBR) (Master Motorsport) R 30:34.591
15 Edward Hoy (GBR) (Mark Burdett Motorsport) R 30:37.106
16 Dominique Cauvin (Motaworld Racing) R 30:40.113
17 Joe Osborne (GBR) (Nexa Racing) R 30:43.650
18 Aaron Steele (GBR) (Mark Burdett Motorsport) R 30:47.092
19 Lars Viljoen (GBR) (Team SWR Pioneer) 30:47.763

 

Not Classified
Duarte Felix da Costa (POR) (Carlin Motorsport) 5 laps
Paul Rees (GBR) (Team SWR Pioneer) 4 laps
Sam Bird (GBR) (Fortec Motorsport) 3 laps

 

Fastest Lap
Matt Howson (Filsell Motorsport) 1m 38.934.052s, 88.89 mph, 143.06 kph
Pole Position - Simon Walker-Hansell (Carlin Motorsport) 1m 59.639s

 

Results - Round 6 - 15 laps = miles

 

1 Matt Howson (GBR) (Filsell Motorsport) 29:25.642
2 Simon Walker-Hansell (GBR) (Carlin Motorsport) 29:27.622
3 Niall Breen (GBR) (Barwell Motorsport) 29:34.527
4 Duarte Felix da Costa (POR) (Carlin Motorsport) 29:35.467
5 Nathan Antunes (AUS) (Motaworld Racing) 29:42.652
6 Jonathan Legris (GBR) (Pegasus Motorsport Int) R 29:44.789
7 Lars Viljoen (GBR) (Team SWR Pioneer) 29:49.973
8 Dean Smith (GBR) (Nexa Racing) 29:53.022
9 Euan Hankey (GBR) (Barwell Motorsport) R 29:55.473
10 Matt Harris (GBR) (Team SWR Pioneer) 29:55.592
11 Ross Curnow (GBR) (Promatecme/Soper Sport) 30:00.555
12 Callum MacLeod (GBR) Filsell Motorsport) 30:01.535
13 Dominique Cauvin (Motaworld Racing) R 30:01.778
14 Joe Osborne (GBR) (Nexa Racing) R 30:04.217
15 Michael Meadows (GBR) (Master Motorsport) R 30:17.426

 

Not Classified
Aaron Steele (GBR) (Mark Burdett Motorsport) R 16 laps
Oliver Turvey (GBR) (Team SWR Pioneer) 15 laps
Paul Rees (GBR) (Team SWR Pioneer) 15 laps
Stian Sørlie (NOR) (Fortec Motorsport) 13 laps
Edward Hoy (GBR) (Mark Burdett Motorsport) 11 laps
Jordan Wise (GBR) (Nexa Racing) 5 laps
Sam Bird (GBR) (Fortec Motorsport) 0 laps
Not classified

 

Fastest Lap
Matt Howson (Filsell Motorsport) 1m 38.790s, 89.02 mph, 143.27 kph
Pole Position - Matt Howson (Filsell Motorsport) 1m 58.479s

 

R indicates driver eligible for Rookie Cup

 

Championship Points Tables

 

Drivers
1. Howson 65 (2 wins), 2. Sørlie (2 wins) 62, 3. Antunes (1 win) 58, 4. Bird 52 , 5. Walker-Hansell (1 win) 41, 6=. Curnow and Smith 37, 8. Keen 33, 9. Felix Da Costa 21, 10. Hankey 19, 11=. Breen and Wise 13, 13. Turvey 8, 14=. Legris and Viljoen 6, 16=. Harris and Meadows 5, 28. Leon 3, 19. Macleod 2.

 

Rookies
1=. Meadows (2 wins) Hankey (3 wins) 90, 3. Steele 48, 4. Legris (1 win) 47, 5. Cauvin 41, 6. Hoy 40, 7. Osborne 36.

 

Teams
1. Fortec Motorsport 115, 2. Filsell Motorsport 66, 3. Carlin Motorsport 62, 4. Motaworld Racing 58, 5. Team SWR Pioneer 52, 6. Nexa Racing 50, 7. Promatecme/Soper Sport 37, 8. Barwell Motorsport 32, 9. Pegasus Motorsport International 9, 10. Master Motorsport 5.

 

Background:

 

Formula BMW is the world's leading entry-level class in Formula racing. In 2005 the series will be held in Germany, Britain, Asia and the USA. Up-and-coming drivers as young as 15-years-old are given the opportunity of entering motor racing with the high-tech, standard FB02 race car.

 

This racing car has been seen on the grid since 2002 and has set standards particularly on the safety technology front. The single-seater is propelled by a 140 bhp BMW engine up to 230km/h and exceeds by far the safety requirements for its class. BMW Motorsport has developed the FORS Formula Rescue Race Seat especially for Formula BMW. The HANS safety system is also mandatory.

 

In 2005, Formula BMW will be staged five times as part of the Formula One support programme. All the series offer a multifaceted Education and Coaching Programme as well as sponsorship for promising racing talents. The best-known alumni of this talent hothouse are Formula One drivers Ralf Schumacher and Christian Klien.

 

BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen: "Formula BMW offers talented young drivers more than just a car. In the Education and Coaching Programme we have designed specially for them, they learn everything they need to know to hold their own in the big wide world of motor racing. Formula BMW has shot out of the blocks to become the top entry-level class for Formula racing worldwide."

 

In December 2005 the Bahrain International Circuit will host the first Formula BMW World Final. Young racing drivers from the four regional Formula BMW series will compete against each other. The winner will get the chance to test a BMW WilliamsF1 Team car.