Formula BMW Asia - Round 14 - Taebaek - Race

Lee takes victory in 2004 grand finale.

Taebaek, Korea - Marchy Lee (HKG/Team Meritus) took the final win of the 2004
Formula BMW Asia season today at Korea's 2.5km Taebaek Circuit, bringing his
tally of wins to 12 out of 14 races, and breaking the record set by 2003
champion Tung Ho Pin.

Lee dominated the 20-lap race from pole to chequered flag, opening up a 4.371
second lead from second-placed Hanss Lin Po Heng (TPE/Belgravia Motorsport).
Third home was 2004 Rookie Cup winner 20-year-old Mehdi Bennani (MOR/Team
Meritus).

Second top Rookie Cup finisher and 4th overall was 17-year-old Hamed Al Fardan
(BRN/Belgravia Motorsport), who had finished the earlier round in 2nd place
overall.

Top BMW Junior finisher was Nik Iruwan Nik Izani (MAS/Team Meritus) who had a
slight coming together with Mohammed Al Baharna (BRN/Belgravia Motorsport),
resulting in minor damage from which he never quite recovered. Fellow BMW
Junior driver Robert T. Boughey (THA/Mindardi Team Asia) had an eventful race.
Getting off to a blistering start, he passed several cars before launching an
unsuccessful attack on Bennani: "If there's an easy road or a hard road, I'll
always choose the latter - ever since I was a kid," he said of his decision not
to sit tight for points, but to challenge the Rookie Cup champion. "I outdid
myself and went off!".

Local drivers didn't fare well after You, Ken Lee Kook Hyun (KOR/Team E-Rain),
and Dado Pena (PHI/Minardi Team Asia) were all involved in an altercation on
lap 15. Although all three failed to finish, You fought bravely on until the
damage he'd sustained put an end to his valiant attempts to cross the finish
line in the final race of the season in front of his home crowd.

Lee finished the season on 250 points, followed by BMW Junior driver,
24-year-old You Kyong-Ouk and Rookie Cup winner Mehdi Bennani (MOR/Team
Meritus), both on 124 points.

Behind Bennani in the Rookie classification was Boughey on 160, with Al Fardan
just three points adrift on 157, and Izani on 152.

At the championship prize-giving ceremony, 2004 champion Lee was delighted to
receive an extra prize in recognition of his extraordinary achievements - a
three-day test with the Team Rosberg Formula 3 outfit.

Even as the teams, drivers and organisers celebrated the end of a second highly
successful Formula BMW Asia season, preparations were already well advanced for
next year. Once again, four BMW scholarships are on offer to Asia's most
talented youngsters, each including a cash contribution of US Dollars 50,000
and the year-long Education & Coaching Programme.

Round 14 Results:
POS No Driver/Nat Entrant Time
1 38 Marchy LEE Ying-Kin (HKG) Team Meritus 18:36.057
2 88 Hanss LIN Po-Heng (TPE) Belgravia Motorsport +4.371
3 24 ?Mehdi BENNANI (MAR) Team Meritus +5.211
4 23 ?Hamed AL FARDAN (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport +6.604
5 3 Tyson SY (PHI) Minardi Team Asia +9.039
6 21 Salman AL KHALIFA (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport +13.688
7 11 ?*Nik Iruwan NIK IZANI (MAS) Team Meritus +14.405
8 4 ?*Robert T BOUGHEY (THA) Minardi Team Asia +23.093
9 6 ?*Han HAN (CHN) Team E-Rain +24.997
10 22 Mohammed AL BAHRANA (BRN) Belgravia Motorsport +43.466
DNF 61 *YOU Kyong-Ouk BMW Korea E-Rain
DNF 2 Dado PENA (PHI) Minardi Team Asia
DNF 7 #LEE Kook-Hyun Team E-Rain
*Scholarship driver
? Rookie Cup
# Non-Series Registered

Fastest Lap: Marchy Lee (HKG/Team Meritus)/0:55.112

Final Championship Standings:
Drivers: 1.Marchy Lee (HKG/Team Meritus) 250 points, 2. You Kyong-Ouk (KOR/BMW
Korea E-Rain) 124 points, 3. Mehdi Bennani (MAR/Team Meritus) 114 points, 4.
Hanss Lin Po Heng (TPE/Belgravia Motorsport) 120 points, 5. Tyson Sy
(PHI/Minardi Team Asia) 108 points, 6. Salman Al Khalifa (BRN/Belgravia
Motorsport) 84 points, 7. Dado Pena (PHI/Minardi Team Asia) 83 points, 8. Hamed
Al Fardan (BAR/Belgravia Motorsport) 80 points, 9. Nik Iruwan Nik Izani
(MAL/Team Meritus) 42 points, 10. Robert T. Boughey (THA/Minardi Team Asia) 39
points, 11. Han Han (CHN/Team E-Rain) 32 points, 12. Mohammed Al Baharna
(BRN/Belgravia Motorsport) 32 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.

Final Rookie Cup Standings:
1. Mehdi Bennani 223 points, 2. Robert T. Boughey 160 points, 3. Hamed Al
Fardan 157, 4. Nik Iruwan Nik Izani 152 points, 5. Han Han 142 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 runs as part of the Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) organised
by Motorsport Asia Limited. This year the series was run over 14 rounds at
seven venues, including Bahrain, where it was a support race to the Formula One
Grand Prix, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Japan and Korea, with the second Formula
One Grand Prix support race in Shanghai last month.

In 2004, four different Formula BMW series were staged in Germany, the UK, Asia
and the USA. Formula BMW events were 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.

Ends.