Formula BMW Asia - Round 4 - Sepang - Race

Ebrahim makes history as first ever Rookie to take victory.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Fifteen-year-old Indian Formula BMW Junior and
Rookie, Armaan Ebrahim (Team E-Rain), astounded the Asian racing fraternity
today by taking a brilliant victory in Round 4 of Formula BMW Asia. The
youngster made history by becoming the first Rookie ever to achieve this
result, in just his fourth outing in the car. He drove the 20-lap race with a
maturity way beyond his years. Second was fellow BMW Junior Robert Boughey
(THA/Team Meritus), followed by series leader Salman Al Khalifa (BAH/Team
E-Rain) in a heart-stopping race.

Al Khalifa remains at the top of the championship leaderboard, but it is now
Ebrahim who is in second, just 17 points behind, with Charlie-Ro Charlez
(MAS/Team Meritus) in third on 45.

Said Ebrahim, who has been tipped for a test with India's A1GP Team and who has
aspirations to follow in the footsteps of his mentor Narain Karthikeyan: "I
never thought I'd win this quickly. I've been getting more experience and have
learned from the first three races. Today I put my head down and am much more
confident. You can expect more from me, but I have to thank BMW for giving me
this opportunity and JK Tyres my primary sponsors for having faith in me."
Not only did Ebrahim credit the comprehensive Formula BMW Education and
Coaching Programme with his extraordinary progress, but also some well-chosen
words of advice from father Akbar, who was India's first ever Formula 3 driver.

In the race, Al Khalifa was slow off the start and lost his pole position
advantage immediately, with fellow countryman Hamed Al Fardan (Team Meritus),
starting from third, seizing the lead almost immediately. Ebrahim was up to
second by the end of lap one ahead of Boughey, and began to close the gap on Al
Fardan. Mid-way through the race, the Indian made a valiant effort to take the
lead, but just couldn't quite pull it off.

Al Khalifa was on a charge to make up the places he lost off the start, setting
the fastest lap of the race, and there was almost nothing between the top
four. Ebrahim finally managed to grab the race lead on lap 16, while behind
him Al Fardan was coming under pressure from a determined Boughey. The two
battled it out over the next three laps until disaster struck for Al Fardan on
the final lap of the race when the two came together taking him out of the
contention and denying him a precious podium finish. That handed third to Al
Khalifa, a position he later declared rightfully belonged to an inconsolable Al
Fardan.

Aaron Lim (MAS/Minardi Team Asia) was the second Rookie finisher and a
tremendous 4th overall in his second ever motor race, followed by fellow
Malaysian Charlez. Ebrahim's win puts him on an equal 67 points with Charlez
in the Rookie Cup standings, followed by An on 40.

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.

Round 4 Results.
POS NO Driver/Nat Entrant Time
1 17 ?*Armaan EBRAHIM (IND) Team E-Rain 22:55.594
2 68 *Robert BOUGHEY (THA) Team Meritus 02.442
3 7 Salman Rashid AL KHALIFA (BAH) Team E-Rain 00.472
4 2 ?Aaron LIM (MAS) Minardi Team Asia 04.805
5 88 ?Charlie-Ro CHARLEZ (MAS) Team Meritus 03.719
6 61 ?*AN Suk-Won (KOR) Team E-Rain 03.881
7 29 ?*Michael Tony PATRIZI (AUS) Team Meritus 10.052
8 4 ?Dejan de ZOYSA (SRI) Minardi Team Asia 02.293
9 22 Jonathan CHAN (HKG) Minardi Team Asia 09.691
10 58 Mitsunobu ENDO (JPN) Team Meritus 02.458
11 9 ?*WANG Jian-Wei (CHN) Ao's Racing Team 05.056
12 99 #SONG Ge (CHN) Ao's Racing Team 07.592
13 38 Hamed AL FARDAN (BAH) Team Meritus 1 lap
DNS 20 #CHIA On (HKG) Ao's Racing Team -
*Scholarship driver
?Rookie Cup
# Non-Series Registered

Fastest Lap: Salman Al Khalifa (BAH/Team E-Rain) 01:07.730/143.51kph
Pole Position: Salman Al Khalifa (BAH/Team E-Rain) 01:07.679/143.62kph

Formula BMW Asia Rookie Cup Results: 1. Ebrahim (IND/Team E-Rain), 2. Lim
(MAS/Minardi Team Asia), 3. Charlez (MAS Team Meritus), 4. An (KOR/Team E-Rain)
5. Patrizi (AUS/Team Meritus), 6. de Zoysa (SRI/Minardi Team Asia), 7. Wang
(CHN/Ao's Racing Team)

Formula BMW Asia Points Standings after Round 4:
1.Salman Al Khalifa (BAH/Team E-Rain) 67 points, 2. Armaan Ebrahim (IND/Team
E-Rain) 50 points, 3. Charlie-Ro Charlez (MAS/Team Meritus) 45 points, 4.
Robert Boughey (THA/Team Meritus) 42 points, 5. Hamed Al Fardan (BAH/Team
Meritus) 26 points, 6. Michael Patrizi (AUS/Team Meritus) 22 points, 7. An
Suk-Won (KOR/Team E-Rain) 22 points, 8. Aaron Lim (MAS/Minardi Team Asia) 18
points, 9. Wang Jian-Wei (CHN/Ao's Racing Team) 11 points, 10. Mitsunobu Endo
(JPN/Team Meritus) 8 points, 11. Dejan de Zoysa (SRI/Minardi Team Asia) 8
points, 12. Jonathan Chan (HKG/Minardi Team Asia) 5 points.

Rookie Cup Standings after Round 4:
1. Armaan Ebrahim 67 points, 2. Charlie-Ro Charlez 67 points, 3. An Suk-Won 50
points, 4. Michael Patrizi 33 points, 5. Wang Jian-Wei 28 points, 6. Aaron Lim
27 points, 7. Dejan de Zoysa 20 points.

Statistics:

Winners 2005: Al Khalifa (2), Boughey (1), Ebrahim (1)

Pole Positions: Al Khalifa (4)

Podiums: Al Khalifa (4), Charlez (2), Boughey (2), Al Baharna (1), Patrizi (1),
Al Fardan (1), Ebrahim (1)

Championship Points: 1. Salman Al Khalifa (BAH/Team E-Rain) 67 points, 2.
Armaan Ebrahim (IND/Team E-Rain) 50 points, 3. Charlie-Ro Charlez (MAS/Team
Meritus) 45 points, 4. Robert Boughey (THA/Team Meritus) 42 points, 5. Hamed
Al Fardan (BAH/Team Meritus) 26 points.
Rookie Cup Winners: Charlez (2), Ebrahim (2)
Rookie Cup Points: 1. Armaan Ebrahim 67 points, 2. Charlie-Ro Charlez 67
points, 3. An Suk-Won 50 points