Formula BMW Americas: Race - Rounds 3 & 4, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, June 8

Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship saw drivers from eight countries compete in front of the Canadian Grand Prix crowd. With the finish of Round 4 today, the flags of Brazil, Canada and the US had flown over the podium. Ricardo Favoretto and Alexander Rossi each took one win.

Round 3:
BMW Junior Ricardo Favoretto (Eurointernational), 19, of Sao Paulo, Brazil took his first career Formula BMW victory in Round 3 of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship today at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. In front of the Canadian Grand Prix crowd, Favoretto, starting from his second career pole position, squeezed past a hometown race inspired Maxime Pelletier (Apex-HBR Racing Team) on the final lap to win the 13-lap contest by a scant .053 seconds. BMW Junior Mikael Grenier, 15, of Stoneham, Quebec, finished third.
BMW Junior Gianmarco Raimondo (Autotecnica), of St. Catherines, Ontario, finished fourth to retain the Overall and Rookie points lead. He set the fastest lap, 1:47.900 minutes, on lap 12. American Alexander Rossi (Eurointernational) rounded out the top-five finishers.
Outside front row starter Daniel Juncadella (Euro Junior Team) fell back to 12th after serving a stop-and-go penalty for jumping the start, but recovered to finish the race in sixth. He was the highest finishing Formula BMW Europe driver in the field.
Following post-race technical inspection Pelletier and Grenier were excluded from the results and all the finishers below them moved up one position.
The race began after two rain showers dampened the track less than one hour before the start. Favoretto got a good start to lead the 16-car field into turn one. Pelletier, from sixth, and Grenier, from fifth, moved into second and third places on lap two. The race’s only caution period came on lap five after Alexandre Ruiz (Apex-HBR Racing Team) had trouble under braking for turn eight, taking out Ollie Millroy (Atlantic Racing Team) and David Ostella (Eurointernational). After the lap seven restart, Pelletier made a great move in turn one, completing his pass of Favoretto in turn three to take the lead. He held the point until Favoretto was able to squeeze by him in the hairpin on the final lap.
The top-five finishing Rookies in Round 3 were, Raimondo (P4), Vilarinho (P8), Jovanovic (P9), Rahman (P10) and Millroy (P11).
Favoretto, who with yesterday’s win gave the Eurointernational team their 50th victory, said, “It was a nice race in the beginning. I opened a good gap and didn’t allow myself to feel pressure. On the restart, Maxime got by me in turn 2 with a good move. I tried to catch him, but my engine was overheating so I had to compromise the draft. On the last lap I was just able to catch him in the hairpin. I am happy with my first win and tomorrow will promise more good things.”
Round 4 -
16-year old American Alexander Rossi led a 1-2-3 Eurointernational sweep of the Round 4 Formula BMW Americas podium today at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. In a 14-lap race that saw plenty of action and only nine of 16 cars finish, Rossi finished 5.110 seconds in front of Rookie Giancarlo Vilarinho, of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Rookie David Ostella, of Ontario, finished third. The win was Rossi’s first of the season and fourth Formula BMW victory of his career.
Doru Sechelariu (Autotecnica), of Bacau, Romania, finished fourth and Jorge Goncalvez (Apex-HBR Racing Team), of Los Teques, Venezuela, finished fifth.
Following post-race technical inspection Ostella was excluded from the results and all the finishers below him moved up one position.
The race began with polesitter Gianmarco Raimondo (Autotecnica) getting away cleanly with Rossi in close pursuit. Behind them four cars got together in turn two to bring out the safety car. The green flag waved to begin the second lap with Rossi getting past Raimondo in turn four. Favoretto moved in to second and Pelletier moved into third after Raimondo made contact with the wall. On lap five Favoretto and Rossi made contact with the Brazilian retiring. Rossi held onto a .188 second lead after lap eight with Pelletier charging hard. On lap nine, Pelletier vaulted over Rossi’s left rear tire, damaging his right front suspension and effectively securing the win for the young American.
Rossi said, “I didn’t lose any positions on the start like yesterday and was able to keep the pressure on. I had a great restart from the yellow. Twice I had contact, but my car seemed invincible. The entire team did a great job this weekend and to stand on the top of this podium feels incredible.”
Vilarinho said, “My car was in great condition for today. The best part was to see all the Brazilian flags waving around the circuit and having my family here for my podium finish.”
In Round 4, the top-five Rookies were Vilarinho (P2), Ruiz (P5), Millroy (P6), Jovanovic (P7), Rahman (P8) and Grenier (P10).

Overall points standings following Round 4: Raimondo (56), Rossi (49), Favoretto (37), Vilarinho (34), Goncalvez (34), Ruiz (28), Pelletier (26), Grenier (21), Jovanovic (20), Ostella (6). Rookie points: Raimondo (50), Vilarinho (34), Ruiz (28), Grenier (21), Jovanovic (20), Ostella (6)

Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship will be held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 20 - 22.

Licensing courses for the 2009 season are scheduled for July 28-29 and August 4-5. They will be held at the Formula BMW Racing Center at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, in Valencia, Spain. Applications are now available at www.formulabmwamericas.com.

Race Results - Round 3 - 13 laps

1 Ricardo Favoretto Eurointernational 26:41.110
2 Gianmarco Raimondo (J, R) Autotecnica 26:43.272
3 Alexander Rossi Eurointernational 26:46.267
4 Daniel Juncadella Euro Junior Team 26:46.230
5 Mihai Marinescu Integra Motorsports 26:49.358
6 Jorge Goncalvez Apex-HBR Racing Team 26:53.301
7 Giancarlo Vilarinho (R) Eurointernational 26:55.872
8 Doru Sechelariu Autotecnica 26:59.611
9 Veilbor Jovanovic (R) Jensen Motorsport 27:05.132
10 Asad Rahman (R) Atlantic Racing Team 27:13.976
11 Ollie Millroy (J, R) Atlantic Racing Team NR
12 William Buller Autotecnica NR
13 David Ostella (R) Eurointernational NR
14 Alexandre Ruiz (J, R) Apex-HBR Racing Team NR
Maxime Pelletier Apex-HBR Racing Team excluded
Mikael Grenier (J, R) Apex-HBR Racing Team excluded

Race Results - Round 4 - 14 laps
1 Alexander Rossi Eurointernational 26:43.647
2 Giancarlo Vilarinho (R) Eurointernational 26:48.757
3 Doru Sechelariu Autotecnica 26:51.350
4 Jorge Goncalvez Apex-HBR Racing Team 26:56.076
5 Alexandre Ruiz (J, R) Apex-HBR Racing Team 27:03.162
6 Ollie Millroy (J, R) Atlantic Racing Team 27:07.259
7 Veilbor Jovanovic (R) Jensen Motorsport 27:26.850
8 Asad Rahman (R) Atlantic Racing Team 28:07.893
9 William Buller Autotecnica 27:36.668 -1 lap
10 Mikael Grenier (J, R) Apex-HBR Racing Team NR
11 Maxime Pelletier Apex-HBR Racing Team NR
12 Ricardo Favoretto (J) Eurointernational NR
13 Gianmarco Raimondo (J, R) Autotecnica NR
14 Daniel Juncadella Euro Junior Team NR
15 Mihai Marinescu Integra Motorsports NR
David Ostella (R) Eurointernational excluded

J = BMW Junior
R = Rookie
Background:

Formula BMW is the world’s leading entry-level series in formula racing. In 2008 the three Formula BMW series - Formula BMW Europe, Formula BMW Pacific and Formula BMW Americas - will be held in the key motor sport markets of Europe, pan-Asia and North and South America. The end of the year will see the Formula BMW World Final staged for the fourth time. The winner will be granted the opportunity of a test drive with the BMW Sauber F1 Team. Formula BMW will be held on the undercard of Formula One on 12 occasions. The series gives young racing talents the chance to enter professional motor sport in a safe racing car - the Formula BMW FB02.
The FB02 has been in use since season 2002. It is powered by a 140 hp BMW engine that takes it to a top speed of up to 230 km/h. It ranks among the safest vehicles in its category and exceeds the FIA safety regulations that govern this class of car. Innovations such as the FORS (Formula Rescue Seat) were developed by BMW Motorsport specifically for Formula BMW. Following Formula One, Formula BMW was the first single-seater series outside the US in which the HANS system was made mandatory.
Formula BMW drivers have the opportunity to take part in an Education and Coaching Programme that runs parallel with the racing season. The program includes driver coaching at the races by professional race drivers, attending a Formula One test, fitness courses, tuition in driving technique and strategy, as well as seminars on sponsoring and sport management.
Among the 20 team drivers in this season’s Formula One, there are now four Formula BMW graduates: Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil, Sebastian Vettel and Timo Glock. The test and reserve drivers add three more to the tally, namely Christian Klien, Sebastien Buemi and Nicolas Hülkenberg.
In the words of BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen: “With our worldwide Formula BMW concept, we offer drivers and teams a platform which, in this format, is unprecedented in a junior series and which allows them to benefit from our Formula One involvement. Through Formula BMW the drivers are equipped with the tools they need to assert themselves successfully in the world of professional motor racing.”
Note to editors:

Information and copyright free Formula BMW images for press purposes will be available at the BMW Motorsport Press Club, www.press.bmw-motorsport.com (no registration is required).
Press Contact: Press Officer Bill Cobb, Tel. +1215.295.3115, +215.431.7223 mobile, E-Mail: bill.cobb@partner.formulabmw.com.