Formula BMW USA - Rounds 5 & 6 - PREVIEW

FORMULA BMW USA - PREVIEW
ROUNDS 5 & 6, CANADIAN GRAND PRIX

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - June 19, 2006... Racing in support of both the Canadian and
United States Grands Prix on back-to-back weekends, Rounds 5 through 8 of the
Formula BMW USA championship, is one of the highlights of the 14-Round season.
Racing for the first time this season with Formula One on June 23-25, Rounds 5
and 6 at the 13-turn, 2.747 miles Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will be especially
important to the eight Canadians among the 28 young drivers entered.

With four different winners in the first four Rounds of the 2006 season,
17-year-old Canadian Junior driver Robert Wickens (Team Apex Racing USA) of
Toronto, Ontario, Round 1 runner-up and Round 3 winner, leads the Championship
point standings. Wickens, the third-place finisher in the 2005 Formula BMW USA
championship and winner of 2005's Round 6 at Montreal said, "I am very excited
for the next Rounds of the championship. Last year, I was able to get my first
win and it is always great to be racing in your home country. I feel that with
a lot of hard work I will be able to improve my results from last year and,
hopefully, win both races."

Daniel Morad (AIM Autosport) of Markham, Ontario, stands second. Winning Round
2 at Mid-Ohio and finishing second in Round 4 at Lime Rock the 16-year-old
Rookie stands second in both Overall and Rookie Points. "I look forward to
racing in Canada, in particular, on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. With its
race history and deep roots in this sport, it will truly be an exhilarating
experience for me. I have dreamed of this moment to race in Canada, in front of
a Canadian crowd and on the F1 circuit. I will make every effort to perform
with excellence and rise to this challenge and achieve a victory."

In addition to Wickens and Morad the six other Canadian drivers in this year's
Formula BMW USA championship are returning drivers Adrien Herberts (Gelles
Racing) of Coquitlam, British Columbia and Ryan Campbell (Gelles Racing) of
Lethbridge, Alberta. New to the series this year are Junior driver Jordan Dick
(Team Apex Racing USA), born in Windsor, Ontario and now living in Northville,
Michigan; Philip Major (Atlantic Racing Team) of Ottawa, Ontario; and from the
Montreal area Junior driver Maxime Pelletier (Gelles Racing) and Yannick Hofman
(HBR Motorsport Team USA).

"I grew up a few kilometers from circuit Gilles Villeneuve and never thought I
would race there when I was only 15," said Pelletier. "Here I am, ready to make
this dream come true. I want to thank all those who made this possible from my
early karting years and promise I will do my very best! I know I can succeed
with the strong team around me."

Hofman said, "Being the only born and raised Montreal driver of the Formula BMW
USA championship, I feel very privileged to demonstrate to my family and to my
two Québec based sponsors, Jig-A-Loo and Eloda, the learning progress I am
undergoing. Jig-A-Loo and Eloda have selected me because they felt important to
support honest hard work and great learning experience which are valuable
foundation for achieving future goals."

Quebec native Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 Formula One World Champion and current
BMW Sauber F1 Team driver, states, "It's great to see the Canadian Formula BMW
USA drivers racing in support of Formula One in Montreal. I think that it will
make for a good race weekend with all the activities around the city. Being
Canadian, I certainly hope to see one of these young drivers in a Formula One
cockpit one day so for that, I wish them all the best luck in their racing
career and especially for this race."

Returning 2005 Formula BMW USA driver Reed Stevens (HBR Motorsport Team USA) of
Palo Alto, Calif. rounds out the top-three in Overall points and leads the
American challenge. Already knowing the way to the Montreal podium, he
finished fourth and second last year.

Colombian Sebastian Saavedra (Gelles Racing) leads the Rookie points after
finishing all four Rounds in the top-10. Following Morad, Mexican Junior driver
David Garza (EuroInternational) is third.

Formula BMW Germany drivers Stefano Coletti and Tobias Hegewald, second and
seventh in the German overall points respectively, will make an appearance in
Montreal, bringing even more competition and excitement to the Formula BMW USA
championship.

Friday's 30-minute practice session is scheduled to start at 9:40 a.m. At 12:15
p.m., the starting positions for both Rounds 5 and 6 will be determined by each
driver's two quickest times in a single 30-minute qualifying session. The
performance of the drivers and their teams during that qualifying session will
likely be the key to success or disappointment in the two races that follow
because, as in Formula One, a good starting position most often translates to a
good finishing position.

The Round 5 race is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and the Round 6
race is scheduled to start at 9:15 a.m. Sunday.
Formula BMW USA will return to Canada for its final Rounds 13 and 14 at Mosport
International Raceway on September 1-3.

Championship points after 4 of 14 races:
1. Robert Wickens (Team Apex Racing USA, 41), 2. Daniel Morad (AIM Autosport,
35), 3. Reed Stevens (HBR Motorsport Team USA, 32), 4. John Zartarian (Gelles
Racing, 30), 5. Matt Lee (Autotecnica, 25), 6. Simona de Silvestro
(EuroInternational, 25), 7. David Garza (EuroInternational, 25), 8. Race
Johnson (HBR Motorsport Team USA, 24), 9. Sebastian Saavedra (Gelles Racing,
22), 10. Adrien Herberts (Gelles Racing, 19), 11. Maxime Pelletier (Gelles
Racing, 14), 12. Ryan Campbell (Gelles Racing, 10), 13. Doug Boyer (AIM
Autosport, 8), 14. Scott Schroeder (American Spirit Grand Prix, 6), 15. Jordan
Dick (Team Apex Racing USA, 6), 16. Robert Thorne (Team Autotecnica, 4), 17.
Philip Major (Atlantic Racing Team, 1), 18. Ryan Phinny (Hearn Motorsports, 0),
19. Jules Duc (Hearn Motorsports, 0), 20. Yannick Hofman (HBR Motorsport Team
USA, 0), 21. Marco Santos (Haberfeld & Walker Racing, 0), 22. Steven Guerrero
(HBR Motorsport Team USA, 0), 23. David Rangel (Haberfeld & Walker Racing, 0),
24. David Farias (Jensen Motorsport, 0), 25. Joel Jackson (Gelles Racing, 0),
26. Frankie Muniz (Jensen Motorsport, 0)

Rookies: 1. Sebastian Saavedra (60), 2. Daniel Morad (51), 3. David Garza (51),
4. Maxime Pelletier (45), 5. Robert Thorne (38), 6. Jordan Dick (34), 7. Steven
Guerrero (17), 8. Joel Jackson (16)

Statistics:
Winners 2006: Stevens (1), Morad (1), Wickens (1), Lee (1)
Pole Positions: Garza (2), Lee (1), Morad (1)
Podiums: Garza (1), Herberts (1), Lee (1), Morad (2), de Silvestro (1), Stevens
(2), Wickens (2), Zartarian (2)

Background:
Formula BMW is the world's leading entry-level championship in Formula racing.
In 2006 the series will be held in Germany, the UK, Asia and the USA. More than
80 up-and-coming drivers, some as young as 15-years old, will compete
worldwide. Racing five times in support of the Formula One World Championship,
Formula BMW offers a worldwide stage, training through a multifaceted Education
and Coaching Program and BMW's longstanding Junior scholarship for deserving
drivers.

The FB02 race car is propelled by a 140 bhp BMW engine, reaching speeds up to
140 mph. The design exceeds the FIA safety requirements for its class, with the
BMW Motorsport developed FORS (Formula Rescue Race Seat), and the mandatory
HANS (Head and Neck Support) safety system.

From November 24 to 26, 2006 the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo
Tormo will host the second Formula BMW World Final. Young racing drivers from
the four regional Formula BMW series will compete against each other with the
winner receiving a test drive with the BMW Sauber F1 Team.