Formula BMW Asia - Round 10 - Autopolis - Race

Lee claims Formula BMW Asia drivers' championship title.
Oita, Japan - Hong Kong hero Marchy Lee (Team Meritus) clinched the 2004
Formula BMW Asia drivers' title today by winning Round 10 of the series at the
Autopolis Circuit in Japan. Second in the race was Filipino youngster Tyson Sy
(Minardi Team Asia), followed by Mehdi Bennani (Team Meritus), who clinched the
Rookie Cup title in the process.

Lee's nine victories in ten races give him an unassailable lead of 190 points.
You Kyong Ouk (BMW Korea E-Rain) retains his second place on the leaderboard,
but Bennani moves up a place into third, just three points adrift of You. Said
the newly-crowned champion: "I wanted to win the title as quickly as I could,
so this is great. I've improved every round, so I hope I've impressed some
people already with what I can do."

Lee got away clean at the start, but Bennani was back on form and roared off
the grid from 3rd, taking 16-year-old Sy in the early stages of the opening
lap. BMW Junior driver Nik Iruwan Nik Izani (Team Meritus) was also quick off
the start, taking fourth from Dado Pena (Minardi Team Asia) in the opening lap.

Meanwhile, Hanss Lin Po Heng (Belgravia Motorsport) was on a charge from the
back of the grid, moving up to 5th by the end of the 2nd lap. Lin moved in on
Iruwan and disaster struck when the two came together. The resulting damage to
Lin's car put him out of the race, while Iruwan was able to continue.
Ironically, Iruwan was handed a one minute jump start penalty, meaning Lin's
daring challenge had been for nothing.

While Lee charged towards the championship title, Sy continued to challenge
Bennani and pressure the Moroccan into making a mistake. Bennani held firm in
second until the very last lap when a puncture allowed Sy past.

Robert T. Boughey (Minardi Team Asia) scored his best-ever finish of 5th place,
with a brilliant passing manoeuvre to take You Kyong-Ouk (BMW Korea E-Rain) in
the dying stages of the race. Boughey came in second in the Rookie Cup
classification, followed by Han Han of China (Team E-Rain), thereby inheriting
second in the championship from Iruwan, with Han Han third.

Despite crossing the line in 5th place, Salman Al Khalifa (Belgravia
Motorsport) was also handed a penalty for anticipating the start putting him
back to 10th, as was Dado Pena, who eventually came in 12th.

Rounds 11 and 12 of Formula BMW Asia will be held on September 25-26, as
support races for China's first Formula 1 Grand Prix at the brand new,
state-of-the-art Shanghai International Circuit.

Round 10 Results:
1 38 Marchy LEE Ying-Kin (HKG) Team Meritus 19:23.560
2 3 Tyson SY (PHI) Minardi Team Asia 03.332
3 24 ?Mehdi BENNANI (MAR) Team Meritus 08.710
4 23 ?Hamed AL FARDAN (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport 14.806
5 4 ?*Robert T BOUGHEY (THA) Minardi Team Asia 15.147
6 61 *YOU Kyoung-Ouk (KOR) BMW Korea E-Rain 15.415
7 6 ?*Han HAN (CHN) Team E-Rain 19.588
8 22 Mohammed AL BAHRANA (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport 21.724
9 68 #Michael TING Chi-Hwa (HKG) Team E-Rain 42.967
10 21 Salman AL KHALIFA (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport 1:13.788
11 11 ?*Nik Iruwan NIK IZANI (MAS) Team Meritus 1:14.507
12 2 Dado PENA (PHI) Minardi Team Asia 1:20.258
DNF 88 Hanss LIN Po-Heng (TPE) Belgravia Motorsport 6 laps
DNF 27 #Mark GODDARD (GBR) Minardi Team Asia 2 laps

*Scholarship driver
? Rookie Cup
# Non-Series Registered

Championship Standings:
Drivers: 1.Marchy Lee (HKG/Team Meritus) 190 points, 2. You Kyong-Ouk (KOR/BMW
Korea E-Rain) 103 points, 3. Mehdi Bennani (MAR/Team Meritus) 100 points, 4.
Hanss Lin Po Heng (TPE/Belgravia Motorsport) 90 points, 5. Tyson Sy
(PHI/Minardi Team Asia) 76 points, 6. Dado Pena (PHI/Minardi Team Asia) 59
points, 7. Salman Al Khalifa (BRN/Belgravia Motorsport) 58 points, 8. Hamel Al
Fardan (BAR/Belgravia Motorsport) 34 points, 9. Robert T. Boughey (THA/Minardi
Team Asia) 26 points, 10. Han Han (CHN/Team E-Rain) 21 points 11. Mohammed Al
Baharna (BRN/Belgravia Motorsport) 20 points, , 12. Nik Iruwan Nik Izani
(MAL/Team Meritus) 16 points, 13. Maekkasit Weraporasu (THA/Autosport with
Arto) 9 points, 14. Tohru Jitsukawa (JPN/Autosport with Arto) 4 points, 15.
Gaby Dela Merced (PHI/Team E Rain) 1 point.

Rookie Cup Standings:
1. Mehdi Bennani 180 points, 2. Robert T. Boughey 120 points, 3. Han Han 102
points, 4. Nik Iruwan Nik Izani 100 points, 5. Hamel Al Fardan 90 points, 6.
Gaby Dela Merced 60 points.

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, including Bahrain, where it was a support
race to the Formula One Grand Prix, Malaysia, Thailand, China and Japan, with a
second Formula One Grand Prix support race in Shanghai.

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."