FORMULA BMW USA - ROUND 13 - LAGUNA SECA RACE

Wirth scores his fourth victory - Hinchcliffe clinches Rookie Championship.

Monterey, Calif. - Sept. 11, 2004. Andreas Wirth (HBR Motorsport) took a
flag-to-flag victory in Round 13 of the 2004 Formula BMW USA Championship,
moving ever closer to his first Formula BMW Championship. The season-long
points leader held off a charge by teammate Jonathan Summerton to win the
15-lap contest by 1.284 seconds and now holds a 15 point lead heading into
tomorrow's final round. Jonathan Summerton finished second, his sixth trip to
the podium this season. James Hinchcliffe finished third and clinched the
Rookie Championship.

The young Canadian BMW Junior driver has led the Rookie points from Round 1 and
has had a stellar season, winning three times and finishing out of the top-five
only once. 15 points behind Wirth, he still has an outside chance at the
overall Championship in tomorrow's Round 14 race. Overall, the top-five in the
Championship are Wirth (189), Hinchcliffe (174), Summerton (148), Matt Jaskol
(141) and Billy Johnson (85)

The top-finishing Rookies were Summerton (P2), Hinchcliffe (P3) and Graham
Rahal (P6). With the Rookie Championship awarded to Hinchcliffe with 215
points, the battle for the remaining top positions is between Summerton (193),
Tom Milner (135) and Graham Rahal (132).

"I love driving these technical tracks so if I can win the Championship here at
Laguna Seca it will be extra special," said Wirth. "If James wins the race
tomorrow, I only need a sixth place finish to win the Championship. Of course,
I will be happy with anything better than sixth, but I will race to win."

Summerton dogged Wirth race-long, making a strong move under braking for turn
11 on lap 10, but could not make the pass for the lead stick. "I think I should
have waited longer to try for the lead, but I thought James and Matt were
catching us quickly. It was a risky move and it almost worked. I thought I had
another shot at Andreas a few laps later, but I lost a bit of momentum entering
the Corkscrew and had to settle for second."

Hinchcliffe said, "The Rookie title, along with a top-three finish in the
overall Championship, were my two goals this season. Four of the BMW Junior
drivers are at the top of the Rookie points so we have proven ourselves to BMW.
I still have a shot at the overall Championship so that will be my focus
tomorrow."

The Round 14 race is scheduled to start at 3:15 p.m. tomorrow.

Race 13 - Results (15 laps) :
1. Andreas Wirth (HBR Motorsport) 22:21.697 (90.074 mph)
2. Jonathan Summerton (R) (HBR Motorsport) 22:22.981
3. James Hinchcliffe (R) (AIM Autosport) 22:24.692
4. Matt Jaskol (Team Autotecnica) 22:25.077
5. Billy Johnson (Team PTG Motorsport) 22.36.803
6. Graham Rahal (R) (Vitesse Farm Racing) 22:37.972
7. Kyle Herder (Atlantic Racing Team) 22:41.421
8. Brian Frisselle (PoleVision Racing) 22:42.006
9. Robbie Montinola (Jensen Motorsport) 22:47.045
10. Tom Sutherland (R) (Team PTG Motorsport) 22:50.975
11. Tom Milner (R) (Team PTG Motorsport) 22:54.657
12. Alexis Fenton (R) (Team Autotecnica) 23:13.163
13. Derek Burseth (R) (PoleVision Racing) 23:40.855
14. Lawson Aschenbach (Team PTG Motorsport) 4:42.386

Championship points after 13 of 14 races:
1. Andreas Wirth (HBR Motorsport, 189), 2. James Hinchcliffe (AIM Autosport,
174), 3. Jonathan Summerton (HBR Motorsport, 148), 4. Matt Jaskol (Team
Autotecnica, 141), 5. Billy Johnson (Team PTG Motorsport, 85), 6. Brian
Frisselle (PoleVision Racing, 66), 7. Graham Rahal (Vitesse Farm Racing, 55),
8. Tom Milner (Team PTG Motorsport, 49), 9. Lawson Aschenbach (Team PTG
Motorsport, 34), 10. Kyle Herder (Atlantic Racing Team, 28), 11 Joey Hand (Team
PTG Motorsport, 22),12. Dominik Jackson (Atlantic Racing Team, 20), 13.
Federico Montoya (Atlantic Racing Team, 10), 14. Tom Sutherland (Team PTG
Motorsport, 11), 15. Gerardo Bonilla (Jensen Motorsport, 8), 16. Robbie
Montinola (Jensen Motorsport, 5), 17. Trevor Daley (Atlantic Racing Team, 4),
18. Daniel Herrington (Jensen Motorsport, 2), 19. Alan Sciuto (Team PTG
Motorsport, 1), 20. Derek Burseth (PoleVision Racing, 1), 21. Alexis Fenton
(Team Autotecnica, 0), 22. Morgan Spurgas (Jensen Motorsport, 0).

Rookies: 1. James Hinchcliffe (215), 2. Jonathan Summerton (193), 3. Tom Milner
(135), 4. Graham Rahal (132), 5.Tom Sutherland (99), 6. Alexis Fenton (59), 7.
Derek Burseth (50), 8. Federico Montoya (32), 9. Trevor Daley (26), 10. Alan
Sciuto (16), 11. Daniel Herrington (14).

Background:

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen adds, "Our junior talent promotion
program 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."

The ultra-modern Formula BMW racecar, which allows 15-year-olds to enter the
world of motor racing, has been lining up on the grid all around the world
since the 2002 season. It sets standards above all on the safety technology
front. The single-seater, powered by a 140 bhp BMW motorcycle engine producing
speeds up to 140 mph, features a carbon-fiber chassis and fulfils the safety
requirements of the much higher-performance Formula 3 cars.

In 2004, Formula BMW will be staged in four different series held in Germany,
England, Asia and the USA. Formula BMW events will be part of the Formula One
support program on five occasions around the world. All the series go
hand-in-hand with a comprehensive education and coaching program, as well as
substantial financial backing for promising young talent. The most
distinguished graduate is Ralf Schumacher. The star of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team
made his racing debut in the junior class in 1992.