Marchy Lee wins Formula BMW Asia Series opener

The 2004 Formula BMW Asia Series kicked off on Saturday with the first
of two races at the brand new Bahrain International Circuit. Seventeen
drivers contested the first event, representing 11 different countries
within the Asian region. Hong Kong's Marchy Lee scored a dominant
victory after overcoming an early challenge from Taipei's Hanss Lin,
which saw the pair battling hard for the lead in the opening laps.
Second place went to Korean You Kyong-Ouk, while Lin eventually had to
settle for third. The three drivers received their trophies from BMW
WilliamsF1 Team driver Ralf Schumacher and BMW Motorsport Director
Mario Theissen. "We have witnessed an interesting start of the
2004 Formula BMW Asia Series today," said Theissen. "I think
we can look forward to an exciting season and we are keen to see how it
develops." Lee started his Team Meritus entry from pole
position, and at the start pulled to the right in an attempt to claim
the line on the run to the first corner. However, Lin had made a better
getaway in his Belgravia Motorsport car, and was able to slot inside
and take the lead. Lee stayed on Lin's tail, and as the pair began the
second lap he dived down the inside into Turn One to reclaim the lead.
Lin fought back through the next few corners, but ran wide, and allowed
You through to second. Another moment on the third lap dropped Lin to
fifth. With Lin out of the picture Lee drove a faultless race,
extending his lead every lap to an eventual margin of 6.8 seconds.
"He got me at the start," said Lee. "I thought I did
quite well, but he got a super start! I was patient and just tried to
stay close, because this track is very dusty, and I got him at the end
of the straight. He almost got me back at turn 3 but I managed to stay
ahead. It's a great start, and hopefully I can do it again. It was an
honour to meet Ralf Schumacher." You had a relatively lonely race
to second in the BMW Korea E-Rain car, while Lin had to work hard and
re-pass Dado Pena and Mehdi Bennani to claim third. After making a bad
start Moreno Soeprapto climbed to fourth, ahead of Bennani and Pena.
The latter survived a spin. You damaged his front wing when he touched
Lee on the second lap. That affected the handling and also disrupted
the airflow to the radiator, and despite concerns about high
temperatures, he drove a sensible race to the flag. "I'm quite
happy with second," said You. "The car was damaged on lap two,
and I thought that the water temperature was too high, so I controlled
the pace to cool down the engine. It's a good start." "I had
a very good start," said Lin, "but I chose the wrong sixth
gear ratio so I was on the rev limiter for 300-400m. So I think I could
have won this race. It was easy for people to pass me, so I had to push
very hard in the corners to hold on to my position. I'm sure I can have
a good year. I want to be champion!" There was plenty of action
down the field. Tyson Sy was an early casualty after his car trailed
fire from its undertray on the opening lap, while Hamed Al Fardan had
to stop on the last lap after also suffering a fire. Sunday's second
round starts at 12.20pm local time, just before the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Because the race is over four hours earlier than the Saturday event the
track temperature is likely to be hotter, so the drivers will have to
cope with very different conditions. Soeprapto starts from pole, ahead
of Minardi team mate Sy. You, Lee, Pena and Lin complete the top six
qualifiers. The Formula BMW Asia Series will be run over 14 rounds at
seven venues in Bahrain, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, China and Japan. It
will culminate in a second Grand Prix support race at Shanghai in
September. Results: Round 1 - 10 laps 1. Marchy Lee (HKG) Team Meritus
22m03.048s 2. Kyong-Ouk You (KOR) BMW Korea E-Rain 22m09.983s 3. Hanss
Lin (TPE) Belgravia Motorsport 22m12.934s 4. Moreno Soeprapto (INA)
Minardi Team Asia 22m20.098s 5. Mehdi Bennani (MAR) Belgravia Motorsport
22m20.846s 6. Dado Pena (PHI) Minardi Team Asia 22m27.383s 7. Han Han
(CHN) Team E-Rain 22m41.187s 8. Maekkasit Weraposal (THA) Autosport with
Arto 22m43.564s 9. Sheik Salmin Bin Rashid Al Khalifa (BAR) Belgravia
Motorsport 22m47.304s 10. Robert T Boughey (THA) Minardi Team Asia
22m56.518s 11. Nik Iruwan Nik Izani (MAS) Team Meritus 23m29.192s 12.
Mohammed Al Baharna (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport 23m32.039s 13. Gaby Dela
Merced (PHI) Team T.E.C Pilipinas 23m33.688s 14. Tohru Jitsukawa (JPN)
Autosport with Arto 23m56.215s 15. Karshana Sanja Thivanka Dissanayake
(MAS) Team E-Rain 9 laps DNF Hamed Al Fardan (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport
9 laps DNF Tyson Sy (PHI) Minardi Team Asia 1 lap Fastest lap: Lee,
2m10.784s, 149.109km/h Winner's Average Speed: 146.726km/h