British racing drivers are projecting a high profile at the Formula BMW Europe 2008. They will be taking their place on the starting grid in their home country on 5th and 6th July. The United Kingdom is represented by six drivers and three teams in the race at Silverstone. This means that there are more British drivers than for any of the other twelve nations making up the 30-strong drivers’ field in BMW Europe.
The British crowd will see 17-year-old Jordan Williams (DAMS Team) from Tavistock, his 17-year-old countryman Rupert Svendsen-Cook (Double R Racing) from Ipswich, and Kazeem Manzur aged 16 (Josef Kaufmann Racing), who was born in Milton Keynes. The two British rookies for Formula BMW Europe – Thomas Hillsdon aged 16 born in Luton (Motaworld Racing) and Ollie Millroy aged 18 (FMS International) from Claygate are also lining up on the grid. Millroy numbers among the small group of five juniors supported by BMW who qualified for a sponsorship package in a tough pre-season selective course. The youngest Briton is 15-year-old William Buller (Fortec Motorsport) from Islip, Northamptonshire.
British motor sport has a strong presence in Formula BMW Europe with Fortec Motorsport, Double R Racing (Räikkönen Robertson Racing) and Motaworld Racing, providing three out of a total of ten teams.
The races in Formula BMW Europe on the 5.141 kilometre circuit are being held during the British Formula 1 Grand Prix. The Silverstone circuit is not just special for the young British drivers in the Europe entry-level series because they are playing on home territory: The classic circuit went down in history as the venue for the first Formula 1 race on 13 May 1950.