FORMULA BMW AMERICAS - QUALIFYING ROUNDS 3 AND 4, CIRCUIT GILLES VILLENEUVE, JUNE 7-8

Today's single qualifying session for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Formula BMW
Americas Championship was held under clearing skies. The drying track put a
premium on the ability of the 16 young drivers to put together not one, but two
fast laps, to qualify for both races.

BMW Junior Ricardo Favoretto (Eurointernational), of Sao Paulo, Brazil, set the
fastest lap of the session to score the Round 3 pole, the second of his career.
His
lap of 1:46.284 minutes around the 2.71-mile, 13-turn Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
was just .261 seconds ahead of Daniel Juncadella (Euro Junior Team).
Juncadella, of Barcelona, Spain, stands third in the Formula BMW Europe series
and is one of six drivers from that series to make the trip to Montreal this
weekend. Alexander Rossi (Eurointernational) was third, only .018 seconds
behind Juncadella.

Overall and Rookie points leader Gianmarco Raimondo (Autotecnica) set the
fourth fastest time in the session, a 1:46.571 minute lap, and backed it up
with a
lap only .016 seconds slower to score the Round 4 pole. Rossi, with a second lap
of 1:46.651 minutes, will start on the outside of the front row in Round 4 and
Favoretto will start third.

The top-five qualifying Rookies in Round 3 were Raimondo (P4), Grenier (P5),
Millroy (P9), Vilarinho (P10) and Ruiz (P11). In Round 4, again it was Raimondo
(P1), Grenier (P5), Millroy (P9), Vilarinho (P10) and Ruiz (P11).

Favoretto (1st, 3rd)

"The track was very slippery in the beginning of the session. In the last five
minutes, I tried as hard as I could. I made a mistake on my very last lap so I
could
not hold the pole for Round 4. I will need to have two different race
strategies. For
tomorrow I need to get a good start and get a gap so not allow my competitors to
draft me. On Sunday, it will be me trying to draft to the front."

Raimondo (4th, 1st)

"The track was more forgiving from this morning's practice session and there was
more grip on the curbing so you could use them quite a bit. I was surprised to
get
the pole for Round 4 after setting only the fourth fastest time in the session,
but
that shows you what consistency will do for you."

Juncadella (2nd, 4th)

Note: Juncadella's car, a brand new chassis, was imported for this race last
Friday. It was built, painted and on the truck to Montreal this Monday -
completed
by the Euro Junior Team in only 62 hours. "We have had many technical
problems today. The gear shift cable broke in practice so I was only able to
complete two laps. In qualifying, a tire valve stem broke. I had to come in to
change the tires and did not get as many laps as I could have. Second and fourth
are good results, but I know we will do better in the races."

Rossi (3rd, 2nd)

"My car developed a vibration under braking that got worse as the session went
on. A track like this puts a premium on braking so I had to give up quite a bit
of
time. Still, third and second are good starting positions. Most importantly
now, I
have to sit down with my engineers, find the brake problem, and fix it."

The Round 3 race is scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m. Saturday and Round 4 is
scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. start on Sunday.

Overall points standings: Raimondo (40), Pelletier (22), Ruiz (18) Rossi (17),
Favoretto (16), Grenier (15) Goncalvez (12) Vilarinho (11), Ostella (6)
Jovanovic
(6). Rookie points: Raimondo (40), Ruiz (18), Grenier (15), Vilarinho (11),
Ostella
(6), Jovanovic (6)

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.

Round 3 starting grid

1 Ricardo Favoretto (J) Eurointernational 1:46.284
2 Daniel Juncadella Euro Junior Team 1:46.545
3 Alexander Rossi Eurointernational 1:46.563
4 Gianmarco Raimondo (J, R) Autotecnica 1:46.571
5 Mikael Grenier (J, R) Apex-HBR Racing Team 1:46.820
6 Maxime Pelletier Apex-HBR Racing Team 1:47.012
7 Mihai Marinescu Integra Motorsports 1:47.065
8 William Buller Autotecnica 1:47.136
9 Ollie Millroy (J, R) Atlantic Racing Team 1:47.245
10 Giancarlo Vilarinho (R) Eurointernational 1:47.409
11 Alexandre Ruiz (J, R) Apex-HBR Racing Team 1:47.683

12 Doru Sechelariu Autotecnica 1:47.824
13 David Ostella (R) Eurointernational 1:48.219
14 Jorge Goncalvez Apex-HBR Racing Team 1:48.757
15 Veilbor Jovanovic (R) Jensen Motorsport 1:50.820
16 Asad Rahman (R) Atlantic Racing Team 1:53.552

Round 4 starting grid

1 Gianmarco Raimondo (J, R) Autotecnica 1:46.587
2 Alexander Rossi Eurointernational 1:46.651
3 Ricardo Favoretto (J) Eurointernational 1:46.707
4 Daniel Juncadella Euro Junior Team 1:46.770
5 Mikael Grenier (J, R) Apex-HBR Racing Team 1:47.006
6 Mihai Marinescu Integra Motorsports 1:47.071
7 Maxime Pelletier Apex-HBR Racing Team 1:47.282
8 William Buller Autotecnica 1:47.310
9 Ollie Millroy (J, R) Atlantic Racing Team 1:47.335
10 Giancarlo Vilarinho (R) Eurointernational 1:47.700
11 Alexandre Ruiz (J, R) Apex-HBR Racing Team 1:47.752
12 Doru Sechelariu Autotecnica 1:47.927
13 David Ostella (R) Eurointernational 1:49.073
14 Jorge Goncalvez Apex-HBR Racing Team 1:49.200
15 Veilbor Jovanovic (R) Jensen Motorsport 1:50.974
16 Asad Rahman (R) Atlantic Racing Team 1:53.591

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.