FORMULA BMW USA ON TRACK AS TESTING BEGINS

Races added at Canadian and United States Grand Prix

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. (February 20, 2004) ... Three more significant steps
towards the inaugural Formula BMW USA Championship took place as in recent days
the very first FB2 to arrive in the States began its testing program and BMW of
North America, LLC announced Rounds Two and Three would take place in support
of the Canadian and United States Grand Prixs in June.

"Formula BMW USA is now literally on-track in the United States," said Formula
BMW USA Manager Alex Schmuck. "Testing to familiarize ourselves with the cars
has begun and what a summer it will be. For most of our young competitors
Formula BMW USA will be the opening act of their open wheel careers and BMW has
put them right on center stage in support of the only two Formula One races in
North America. If your goal is the Formula One World Championship you do not
have to look far from Formula BMW USA."

Under the direction of Series Coordinator and Engineer Louis D'Agostino,
development driver Oswaldo Negri Jr. completed more than 250 miles of testing
over three days at both Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Fla. and
Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach, Fla.

"The FB2 drives very much like an F-3 car and is surprisingly quick," said
open-wheel veteran Negri. "The car is extremely nimble and allows you to carry
a great deal of speed into a corner. I love the sound of the BMW engine. The
FB2 is an incredible junior formula car."
"The Sebring test was important as we wanted to assure ourselves that the FB2's
suspension would be compliant enough for the rougher surfaces of North American
circuits," said D'Agostino. " We completed more than 150 miles and were pleased
that we were able to run quite a low ground clearance and maintain good grip
even over Sebring's uneven concrete. Moroso is considered to have a low-grip
surface and the FB2 performed equally well. We also spent time there
acquainting ourselves with the car's multi-channel data acquisition system. It
is quite comprehensive and will be a great asset to our teams as well as quite
a learning experience for our newer drivers."

"You have a high expectation of any car with a Roundel (the blue and white BMW
emblem) on its nose and even more so with a BMW racing car," added D'Agostino.
"Even with the bar set high, the FB2 impressed all of us. It is balanced, fast
and precise. Everything you expect from a racing machine."

Formula BMW USA will open its season at Lime Rock Park on May 27-31, followed
by back-to-back weekends in support of the Canadian and United States Grand
Prixs on June 11-13 and 18-20 respectively.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.
ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW
Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial
service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE
brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a
technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the
country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's
global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all
Z4 roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization
is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW passenger car centers,
327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 73 MINI
passenger car dealers, and 25 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding
Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South America,
is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet
at:
www.bmwusa.com
www.bmwmotorradusa.com
www.miniusa.com
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

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Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available
to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address:
www.press.bmwgroup.com.

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