Woodcliff Lake, NJ - September 28, 2005... BMW announced today the names of the five young drivers that will be awarded a 2006 Formula BMW USA Junior scholarship. Each will receive a $40,000 scholarship towards participation in the 2006 Formula BMW USA Championship and automatic enrollment in Formula BMW USA Education and Coaching Program.
The 2006 Formula BMW USA Junior drivers that will race in the distinctive BMW Motorsport livery are Brandon Bealer (16), of Coalville, Ill.; Jordan Dick (17), of Northville, Mich.; David Garza (17), of Monterrey, Mexico ; Maxime Pelletier (15), of Longueuil, Quebec, Canada; and Robert Thorne (15), of Langhorne, Pa.
The five winners were selected in a competition between 18 young drivers invited from two previous Formula BMW USA licensing schools held in July. On August 31 to September 1, the two-day “shoot-out”, was held at the Formula BMW Racing Center at the "Circuit de la Communitat" in Valencia, Spain. During practice sessions, instructors provided feedback while keeping an expert eye out for those who had the potential to wear the BMW Junior colors. The program culminated with two sessions of evaluations where all drivers were scored by five instructors, that included BMW Touring Car driver Joerg Mueller and Formula BMW USA driving coach Peter Argetsinger.