Gianmarco Raimondo Awarded Formula BMW Junior Scholarship

Formula BMW Americas today confirmed the Junior drivers to be awarded scholarships for the 2008 season. We are pleased to announce that seventeen year old Gianmarco has been selected and will participate in the program.

"We are really happy with the news" said an enthusiastic Gianmarco. "We are now working hard with Autotecnica to bring success to the team and being part of the Formula BMW Junior program will bring added benefit to our efforts to achieve winning results in 2008."

The primary objective of the Formula BMW Junior program is to back motor racing at the grass-roots level by offering drivers the comprehensive training they need. Internationally applied sporting and technical regulations ensure that all participants compete against each other with identical equipment and in a fair, competitive environment. That means nobody gains an advantage through financial or technical means, and that is the basis of an absolutely level playing field in the context of relatively limited budgets.

As a vital part of experienced racing teams, the young talents get accustomed to the atmosphere in a professional single-seater series. ( from Formula BMW Americas)

The St. Catharines, Ontario teen and Team Autotecnica will now continue with their testing program ahead of official testing for the series that will start April 4th at Virginia International Raceway.

Formula BMW Americas has also confirmed their schedule for this year and announced the venue for rounds 5 & 6 which will take place at the Mid Ohio Race Course on June 20-22. The complete schedule is available on the series web site: www.formulabmwamericas.com

Formula BMW Americas confirms four 2008 Junior drivers; Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course host Rounds 5/6

Woodcliff Lake, NJ. – February 29, 2008 Formula BMW Americas confirmed today the four young men who will receive BMW Junior scholarships for the 2008 season. They are Ricardo Favoretto, 19, of Sao Paulo, Brazil; Mikael Grenier, 15, of Quebec, Canada; Alexandre Ruiz, 16, of Sao Paulo, Brazil and Gianmarco Raimondo, 17, of St. Catherine, Ontario, Canada.

Favoretto, a 2007 Junior, finished second in the 2007 Formula BMW USA Rookie championship. Grenier, Ruiz and Raimondo won their scholarships at the scholarship shoot-outs held last year at the Formula BMW Racing Center at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, in Valencia, Spain. Raimondo was awarded the scholarship when Juan Arenas chose not to participate.

Each 2008 Formula BMW Americas Junior will receive $80,000 towards participation in the championship and automatic complimentary enrollment in the Education and Coaching program.

The BMW Junior program has a proud tradition dating back to the mid-1970s. Since Formula BMW’s beginnings in North America in 2004 the program has graduated quite a number of notable young drivers. They include Graham Rahal, Tom Milner, James Hinchcliffe, Jonathan Summerton, Richard Philippe, Kevin LaCroix, David Garza, Robert Wickens, and Daniel Morad.

Young drivers interested in joining this elite group can mark the dates of July 28-29 and August 4-5 for the Licensing Courses for the 2009 Formula BMW Americas championship.

Finalizing the 14-race schedule, Rounds 5 and 6 will be held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 20 - 22 in conjunction with the Rolex Sports Car Series’ EMCO Gears Classic presented by Key Bank. Formula BMW visited Mid-Ohio in both the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

With the recent announcement of the merger between Champ Car and IRL, BMW driver Alex Zanardi (ITA), welcomes the decision and sees a positive future of open wheel racing in the United States:

"Open Wheel Racing has a great history in the US. For me, it is fantastic to see that both series have done the right step to unify. The whole open wheel racing scene is strengthened, and the meaning of Formula BMW Americas is further increased. I am sure we will see a bright future of single-seater racing in both Americas."

Before the 2008 Formula BMW Americas season gets the green lights at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway on May 16 - 17, three official testing sessions will be held at Virginia International Raceway on April 5 – 6, Miller Motorsports Park on April 25 – 27 and Thunderhill Raceway Park on May 8 – 9.

Formula BMW Americas reflects the growth of Formula BMW worldwide. Formula BMW Germany and Formula BMW UK have combined championships to form Formula BMW Europe. Formula BMW Europe, Formula BMW Americas and Formula BMW Pacific will now comprise the new global face of Formula BMW.

Calendar for Formula BMW Americas: Date Event Venue 17th May Festival of Speed Laguna Seca Raceway 8th June GP Canada Montreal 21st June EMCO Gears Classic Mid-Ohio 12th July Northeast Grand Prix Lime Rock Park 10th August Road America Grand Prix Road America 28th September ARCA Thunderbolt Raceway 2nd November GP Brazil Interlagos