7-year old BMW Junior and Rookie driver Gianmarco Raimondo (Autotecnica), of St. Catherines, Ontario, won Round 2 of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas today at Laguna Seca Raceway. Raimondo finished 2.703 seconds ahead of American Alexander Rossi (Eurointernational), 16, in the 17-lap contest to become the first Rookie driver in series history to win the opening two Rounds of the series

Rossi, bouncing back from the disappointment of a blown engine while leading yesterday’s Round 1 race, set a new race record of 1:27.668 minutes around the 2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit on lap 16. Canadian Maxime Pelletier (Apex-HBR Racing Team), 17, drove a very strong race to finish on the third step of the podium after starting eighth. He made the move of the race with a daring inside pass of teammate Alexandre Ruiz to secure third on lap 11. Ruiz finished fourth and Giancarlo Vilarinho (Eurointernational) rounded out the top five.

The key to Raimondo’s second victory was his ability to get away cleanly from his front row starting spot and lay down very quick times on cold tires on the race’s restarts following today’s two caution periods. The first yellow flag waved for Favoretto’s off on the first lap and the second caution period came on lap six following David Ostella’s (Eurointernational) off course in turn three. Ostella was able to continue following a stop in the pits, finishing ninth, three laps down to the field.

Overall and Rookie points leader Raimondo said, “I was a bit nervous during the caution periods, but I was able to get away from Alexander on the restarts and maintain the gap. My home race (the Canadian Grand Prix) is coming up next and I’m really looking forward to being a part of a Formula One weekend.”

Rossi said, “The team stayed up most of last night to fix the car after yesterday’s failure so I am pleased to get a podium finish for them. Overall, I was hoping for better results this weekend, but I’m happy to set a new race record and score some real points toward the championship.”

elletier said, “In this morning’s qualifying session something broke on the car so I had to reset my mind to focus on the race and move up from eighth. I was not expecting to pass anyone in turn nine, but it seemed that I was much faster than Ruiz through the corkscrew. It was very exciting as I was right on his gearbox. I thought about the outside, but then made the pass work on the inside.”

This morning’s qualifying session saw a refocused Favoretto take his first career Formula BMW pole with a new qualifying record of 1:26.987 minutes. Round 1 winner Raimondo was .300 seconds behind at a 1:27.287 minute lap. Rossi, breaking in a new engine, qualified third with a lap of 1:27.308. As in Round 1 qualifying, the top-six qualifiers were within one second of the pole time.

Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship will be held at the Canadian Grand Prix on June 6 – 9.

Overall points standings: Raimondo (40), Pelletier (22), Ruiz (18) Rossi (17), Favoretto (16), Grenier (15) Goncalvez (12) Vilarinho (11), Ostella (6) Jovanovic (6). Rookie points: Raimondo (40), Ruiz (18), Grenier (15), Vilarinho (11), Ostella (6), Jovanovic (6)

Licensing courses for the 2009 season are scheduled for July 28-29 and August 4-5. They will be held at the Formula BMW Racing Center at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, in Valencia, Spain. Applications are now available at www.formulabmwamericas.com.

Race Results – Round 2 – 17 laps
1 Gianmarco Raimondo (J, R) Autotecnica 28:08.306
2 Alexander Rossi Eurointernational 28:11.009
3 Maxime Pelletier Apex-HBR Racing Team 28:17.756
4 Alexandre Ruiz (J, R) Apex-HBR Racing Team 28:18.633
5 Giancarlo Vilarinho (R) Eurointernational 28:23.779
6 Jorge Goncalvez Apex-HBR Racing Team 28:25.154
7 Veilbor Jovanovic (R) Jensen Motorsport 28:45.684
8 Mikael Grenier (J, R) Apex-HBR Racing Team 28:47.110
9 David Ostella (R) Eurointernational 28:51.676 -3 laps
10 Ricardo Favoretto, (J) Eurointernational - 17 laps

J = BMW Junior
R = Rookie

Background: Formula BMW is the world’s leading entry-level class in Formula racing. In 2008 the series will be held across Europe, Asia Pacific and the USA. Up-and-coming drivers 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 the FIA 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.

BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen: “Formula BMW offers talented young drivers more than just a car. In the Education and Coaching Program we have designed especially 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.”