Formula BMW Asia - Round 5 - Bira - Race

Strong win for Lee in Thailand

Bira. Marchy Lee (Term Meritus) continued his dominance of Formula BMW Asia
with a commanding win in Round 5, leading the 20-lap race from pole to
chequered flag. The Hong Kong single seater star didn't put a wheel wrong
throughout the race, despite up-and-coming Rookie and team mate Mehdi Benani
keeping up the pressure for much of the race.

"I wasn't an easy race," said Lee. "I got a good start, but for much of the
race Mehdi was so close. He'd go faster and then I'd put in a faster lap, so
it was a good race."

Bennani was thrilled to be third despite having run behind Lee for three
quarters of the race. He was grateful that a spin late on, which gave South
Korea's You Kyong-Ouk (BMW Korea E-Rain) second, didn't cost him a podium
place. Although he pushed hard and had closed right up to You, he wasn't able
to regain second place by the chequered flag.

Formula BMW Junior You, who had started from fourth on the grid, had an
eventful race and did well to finish second. "I made a mistake at the start
and dropped to fifth," said the 24-year-old, who won the Rookie Cup title last
year. "Later on, I went on the outside when the rest of the drivers took the
inside line, and managed to move up to third. When Mehdi spun, I could see
there was space for only one car at the last corner, tried to take the space
and was successful, which is why I finished second!"

Hanss Lin (Belgravia Motorsport) was fourth after a sterling effort which saw
him push team mate Hamed Al Fardan hard for half of the race. Lin is on a
charge this weekend determined to put behind him his recent run of bad luck,
and is on pole for the second race of the day.

Salman Al Khalifa (Belgravia Motorsport) crossed the line fifth, followed by
Tyson Sy (Minardi Team Asia) and team mates Moreno Soeprapto of Indonesia and
fellow Filipino Dado Pena, who celebrated his 17th yesterday. Pena suffered a
slow puncture early on in the race, which slowed the car. However, he managed
to bring the car home to score some valuable championship points.

It was a mixed outing for the other Formula BMW Junior drivers. Robert Boughey
(Minardi Team Asia) of Thailand finished highest after You in ninth place,
after a performance he will be proud of on his "home" circuit. The second Thai
driver, Maekkasit Weraporasu (Autosport with Arto), finished in tenth.

More information about Formula BMW Asia at www.press.bmw.com.

Round 5 Results
POS No Driver/Nat Entrant Time
1. 38 Marchy LEE Ying-Kin (HKG) Team Meritus 20.53.670
2. 61 *YOU Kyoung-Ouk (KOR) BMW Korea E-Rain 20.58.774
3. 24 ?Mehdi BENANI (MAR) Team Meritus 20.59.133
4. 88 Hanss LIN Po-Heng (TPE) Belgravia Motorsport 21.00.173
5. 21 Salman ALKHALIFA (BRN) Belgravia Motosport 21.05.240
6. 3 Tyson SY (PHI) Minardi Team Asia 21.05.916
7. 5 #Moreno SOEPRAPTO (INA) Minardi Team Asia 21.21.188
8. 2 Dado PENA (PHI) Minardi Team Asia 21.35.378
9. 4 ?*Robert T BOUGHEY (THA) Minardi Team Asia 21.35.881
10. 19 M. WERAPORASU (THA) Autosport with Arto 21.38.818
11. 33 #Mike POTENCIANO San Miguel MP Turbo 21.46.692
12. 11 ?*Nik Iruwan NIK IZANI (MAS) Team Meritus 21.56.064
13. 12 ?*Gaby Dela MERCED (PHI) Team E-Rain 19 laps
14. 6 ?*Han HAN (CHN) Team E-Rain 17 laps
15. 22 Mohammed AL BAHARNA (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport DNF
16. 23 ?Hamed AL FARDAN (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport DNF
*Scholarship driver
? Rookie Cup
# Non-Series Registered

Background
The ultra-modern Formula BMW which allows 15-year-olds to enter the world of
motor racing has been lining up on the grid since the 2002 season. It sets
standards above all on the safety technology front. The single-seater, driven
by a 140 bhp BMW motorcycle engine that takes it up to 230 km/h, features a
carbon-fibre chassis, fulfils the safety requirements of the much
higher-performance Formula 3 cars, and even matches certain Formula One
standards.

Formula BMW Asia, now in its second season, runs as part of the Asian Festival
of Speed (AFOS) organised by Motorsport Asia Limited. This year the series is
run over 14 rounds at seven venues in Bahrain, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, China
and Japan. It will culminate in a second Formula One Grand Prix support race
at Shanghai in September.

In 2004, Formula BMW will be staged in four different series held in Germany,
the UK, Asia and the USA. Formula BMW events will be part of the Formula One
support programme on five occasions around the world. All the series go
hand-in-hand with a comprehensive education and coaching programme, as well as
substantial financial backing for promising young talent. The most
distinguished graduate of this "talent hothouse" is Ralf Schumacher. The star
of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team made his racing debut in the junior class in 1992.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen: "Our junior talent promotion scheme is
an intensive basic education for successful kart drivers who want to move up
into Formula racing. Our priorities are to create a level playing field through
technically identical vehicles and scrupulously defined regulations, and to
ensure maximum safety."

Ends.

Issued for Motorsport Asia Limited by PR Plus Limited. For further information
please contact Nikki Kemp in Hong Kong on telephone +(852) 25756995 or email
mtprplus@pacific.net.hk