Formula BMW Asia - Round 2 - Bahrain - Race

Marchy Lee completes double in Formula BMW Asia Series

Sakhir (BRN). Marchy Lee won the second round of the 2004 Formula BMW Asia
Series at Sakhir, a day after he triumphed in the first race of the year. The
double success gives the Hong Kong driver a commanding points lead, and marks
him as a favourite to win this year's title.

"I feel very, very happy, and the race was quite good," said a delighted Lee
after an exciting race. "It's been a perfect weekend. It was raining a little
bit at the beginning of the race. The set-up of the car was quite hard in the
front, so it was quite difficult to turn in at a couple of corners. I had to
calm down and drive safely and not make any mistakes. Also the wind was quite
disturbing. Tyson did a very good race. I hope I can do this again in Sepang
for the next round."

Against expectations the weather proved to be poor on Sunday. Cloudy skies
meant that the track temperature was a lot lower than it was in qualifying, and
windy conditions made life difficult for the drivers. However, the real test
was a light shower just before the start which made the track very slippery.
All the drivers raced on dry weather tyres, and struggled to stay on the road
in the opening laps. However, most coped extremely well, and were able to adapt
to this unusual challenge.

Moreno Soeprapto started the race from pole, but the Indonesian struggled to
find traction off the line. His Minardi Team Asia team mate Tyson Sy led into
the first corner, but from fourth on the grid Marchy Lee got away well. As the
field scrabbled around the first corners the Team Meritus driver moved up to
second and took the lead from Sy at Turn 3.

The first few laps saw frantic action as the cars in the leading group slid
around and frequently swapped places. Hanss Lin got away well from sixth place,
and passed Lee for the lead on lap 3 at the last corner. Marchy was put off
line and briefly dropped to fourth. However, Lin overdid it and spun at the
next corner.

Lee was soon back in the lead. Sy then passed him at Turn 3 on lap 7, and the
two cars made brief contact. However, Lee regained top spot on the next lap.
Despite strong pressure from Sy he stayed ahead to the flag. Kyong-Ouk You of
Korea was a third, having run as high as second at one point.

Sy was very pleased to finished second, having retired early in the first race
when an oil leak caused a spectacular fire.

"It was a really exciting race," said Sy. "Yesterday I had a problem with my
car, and I did only one lap. The mechanics did a very good job on the car, and
today I got second. It was really fun to fight for first place with Marchy Lee."

You was satisfied with a second podium finish for BMW Korea E-Rain.

"I was trying to push very hard through the race," he said, "but it was really
tough. The other two are really good, but next time I hope I can win!"

There was a lot of action behind the top three. Dado Pena finished fourth for
Minardi Team Asia, despite an off-track moment. Mehdi Bennani took fifth for
Belgravia Motorsport, while the top six was completed by Lin, who recovered
well after his spin. Pole man Soeprapto retired on the sixth lap.

The podium prizes were presented by BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, who
said he enjoyed the race immensely.

"The second race was a big step forward compared to the first one," he noted.
"You can see the progress these guys are making from race to race. This race
was really close up to the last corner, and I think we're looking forward to a
really exciting season."

The Formula BMW Asia Series is 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. Seventeen drivers contested the
first event, representing 11 different countries within Asia.

Results: Round 2 (Sunday Race) - 10 laps

1. Marchy Lee (HKG) Team Meritus 23m22.209s
2. Tyson Sy (PHI) Minardi Team Asia 23m22.654s
3. Kyong-Ouk You (KOR) BMW Korea E-Rain 23m26.377s
4. Dado Pena (PHI) Minardi Team Asia 23m29.351s
5. Mehdi Bennani (MAR) Belgravia Motorsport 23m29.760s
6. Hanss Lin (TPE) Belgravia Motorsport 23m31.456s
7. Robert T Boughey (THA) Minardi Team Asia 23m39.414s
8. Maekkasit Weraposal (THA) Autosport with Arto 23m40.525s
9. Sheik Salmin Bin Rashid Al Khalifa (BAR) Belgravia Motorsport
10. Han Han (CHN) Team E-Rain 23m56.280s
11. Mohammed Al Baharna (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport 24m02.436s
12. Tohru Jitsukawa (JPN) Autosport with Arto 24m22.416s
13. Hamed Al Fardan (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport 24m56.746s
14. Nik Iruwan Nik Izani (MAS) Team Meritus 25m07.507s
15. Karshana Sanja Thivanka Dissanayake (MAS) Team E-Rain 9 laps
16. Gaby Dela Merced (PHI) Team T.E.C Pilipinas 9 laps
Ret. Moreno Soeprapto (INA) Minardi Team Asia, 5 laps

Fastest lap: Weraposal, 2m12.777s, 146.871km/h
Winner's Average Speed: 138.443km/h

Championship points: 1, Lee, 40pts; 2, You, 35; 3, Sy and Lin, 15; 5, Pena, 13;
6, Bennani, 12; 7, Weraposal, 6; 8, Boughey, 5; 9, Han, 4; 10, Al Khalifa, 4.