Thai newcomer Jack Lemvard (CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) took his first ever single seater victory in Round 15 of Formula BMW Asia, while Malaysian team mate Jazeman Jaafar notched up his second win of the weekend and 7th of the season so far in the second race.

Jazeman was second in the first race, followed by BMW Junior and another team mate Ross Jamison (17/HKG), who took the Rookie Cup win. In the second race, it was Lemvard’s turn to finish runner-up to Jazeman, while Zahir Ali of Indonesia (20/Team TARADTM) took the final podium place. Jamison once again took the Rookie Cup win finishing behind James Grunwell (18/THA/CIMB Team Q-Meritus) in 5th overall.

Jaafar’s performance means he regains the lead of the Driver Classification with a 44 point lead over 2nd placed Ali, with Grunwell now relegated to 3rd, 61 points behind the leader. With six rounds still to go Jamison’s consistency is paying off and he now has a 64 point lead over Mitchell to top the Rookie Cup classification.

It was a real test of both man and machine on the brand-new 3.376km Chengdu Goldenport Circuit in China which is both technically and physically demanding, with the first race run in wet conditions and the second on a drying track.

For the first race of the day, run in the wet, Ali had another bad start from pole but was ahead going in to the first turn. However, a brush with Jazeman was followed shortly thereafter by a spin which put him back down the field. He eventually finished 7th. The opening stages of the race were hectic, with Grunwell and BMW Junior Kyle Mitchell (16/RSA/Eurasia Motorsport) both put back down the running order after incidents. At the front of the chasing pack Jazeman had inherited the lead from Ali, with Jamison and Lemvard in hot pursuit.

BMW Junior Khushlani (17/IND/Eurasia Motorsport) had got away well and was up to 4th from 11th on the grid by the second lap, followed by fellow BMW Junior and local hero Zhu.

Lemvard got the better of Jamison on lap 3 to go second. The Safety Car was called out on lap 6, closing up the field and when the race resumed Grunwell had climbed back up to 7th before crashing out on the next lap. Mitchell was given a drive-through penalty, which put pay to any chance of a recovery. Meanwhile newcomer Lemvard, in just his third ever single seater race, was keeping team mate Jazeman firmly in his sights, and made a decisive move on the penultimate lap to snatch victory. Jamison was relieved to have stayed out of trouble to collect third place points and take the Rookie Cup win.

Said Lemvard, who set the fastest lap of the race: "I’m extremely happy to have won. I got a good start, but the first few laps were really hectic. I like racing in the wet, so was in my element!". Team mate Jazeman was frustrated to have missed out on the win and valuable championship points, and admitted he had made a mistake in the closing stages which allowed Lemvard to get by.

On a drying track, round 16 saw pole-sitter Lemvard get away well followed by Jazeman, with Khushlani getting past Jamison on the opening lap to go 3rd. Mitchell had charged through the field from the back of the grid and up to 5th, while Ali had made up a place to 6th. In a race which saw a high rate of attrition, the opening seconds of the race saw BMW Junior David Zhu (17/CHN/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus), Johan Adzmi (17/MAS/Team Holzer PFX) and team mate Melvin Moh (19/MAS) all come to grief. At turn one Imran Shaharom (19/MAS/Team Holzer PFX) spun and, taking evasive action, both Zhu and Moh went off.

The Safety Car was called out and at the re-start on lap 6, Jazeman grabbed the lead from Lemvard, Khushlani held on to 3rd, and both Mitchell and Ali passed Jamison. Disaster struck when Mitchell came together with Khushlani, putting them both out of the race.

That promoted Ali to 3rd, which he held to the flag, followed by Huzair Harun Rasip (19/MAS/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) and Grunwell, who got by Jamison to go 5th. The Safety Car was called out for a second time when Huzair went off, and this time the race did not resume and was flagged at 15 laps.

Indian racer Cchiranjeev R. BEDI (17/Engstler Bollywood Racing) has shown steady improvement throughout the season and his 6th place finish in the race was testament to this. He said: "Without doubt this is a very good result for me, and very good experience. I had a fight with Shohei in the later stages of the race and I had to defend my position. Luckily for me, the Safety Car came out!"

1 78 Jack LEMVARD (THA) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus 30:54.089

2 33 Jazeman JAAFAR (MAS) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +1.150

3 88 Ross JAMISON*• (HKG) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +3.083

4 27 Akhil KHUSHLANI*• (IND) Eurasia Motorsport +10.687

5 68 David ZHU*• (CHN) CIMB Team Qi- Meritus +15.351

6 5 Imran SHAHAROM• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +16.544

7 8 Zahir ALI (INA) Team TARADTM +24.665

8 77 Johan ADZMI• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +30.964

9 7 Shohei SHIROMOTO*• (JPN) Team E-Rain +38.052

10 11 Melvin MOH• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +38.426

11 58 Huzair HARUN RASIP• CIMB Team Qi- Meritus +40.067

DNF 28 Kyle MITCHELL*• (RSA) Eurasia Motorsport -

DNF 38 James GRUNWELL (TA) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus -

DNF 37 Cchiranjeev R. BEDI• (IND) Engstler Bollywood Racing -

DNF 2 Sean MC DONAGH• (USA) Team E-Rain

Pole Position: Zahir Ali/Team TARADTM
Fastest Lap: Jack Lemvard/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus/1:40.669/109.950

Round 16.

1 33 Jazeman JAAFAR (MAS) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus 30:25.108

2 78 Jack LEMVARD (THA) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +0.784

3 8 Zahir ALI (INA) Team TARADTM +1.824

4 38 James GRUNWELL (THA) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +6.661

5 88 Ross JAMISON*• (HKG) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +6.933

6 37 Cchiranjeev R. BEDI• (IND) Engstler Bollywood Racing +7.358

7 7 Shohei SHIROMOTO*• (JPN) Team E-Rain +7.980

8 5 Imran SHAHAROM• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +9.085

9 2 Sean MC DONAGH• (USA) Team E-Rain +10.573

DNF 58 Huzair HARUN RASIP• CIMB Team Qi- Meritus -

DNF 27 Akhil KHUSHLANI*• (IND) Eurasia Motorsport -

DNF 28 Kyle MITCHELL*• (RSA) Eurasia Motorsport -

DNF 11 Melvin MOH• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX -

DNF 68 David ZHU*• (CHN) CIMB Team Qi- Meritus -

DNF 77 Johan ADZMI• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX -

Pole Position: Jack Lemvard/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus
Fastest Lap: James Grunwell/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus

Revised Provisional results for Round 14 (September 15, 2007).

1 33 Jazeman JAAFAR (MAS) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus 28:43.233

2 28 Kyle MITCHELL*• (RSA) Eurasia Motorsport +0.142

3 38 James GRUNWELL (THA) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +2.955

4 78 Jack LEMVARD (THA) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +4.745

5 8 Zahir ALI (INA) Team TARADTM +4.901

6 68 David ZHU*• (CHN) CIMB Team Qi- Meritus +8.120

7 27 Akhil KHUSHLANI*• (IND) Eurasia Motorsport +8.692

8 88 Ross JAMISON*• (HKG) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +9.719

9 2 Sean MC DONAGH• (USA) Team E-Rain +9.886

10 7 Shohei SHIROMOTO*• (JPN) Team E-Rain +15.281

11 37 Cchiranjeev R. BEDI• (IND) Engstler Bollywood Racing +23.925

12 11 Melvin MOH• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +26.628

DNF 5 Imran SHAHAROM• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX -

DNF 77 Johan ADZMI• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX -

DQ 58 Huzair HARUN RASIP• CIMB Team Qi- Meritus

Pole Position: Zahir Ali/Team TARADTM
Fastest Lap: Kyle Mitchell/Eurasia Motorsport/1:30.688/118.299

Final Championship points and standings will be issued only following the outcome of the protest involving Car Number 33 lodged on September 15, 2007.

Provisional Championship Points Tables after Round 16.

1. Jazeman Jaafar (MAS/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) 569 points; 2. Zahir Ali (INA/Team TARADTM) 525 points; 3. James Grunwell (THA/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) 508 points; 4. Ross Jamison (HKG/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) 486 points; 5. Kyle Mitchell (RSA/Eurasia Motorsport) 422 points; 6. Akhil Khushlani (MAL/Eurasia Motorsport) 376 points; 7. Shohei Shiromoto (JPN/Team E-Rain) 330 points; 8. Sean McDonagh (USA/Team E-Rain) 313 points; 9. David Zhu (CHN/Team Meritus) 300 points; 10. Johan Adzmi (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 297 points; 11. Melvin Moh (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 276 points; 12. Imran Shaharom (MAS/Team Holzer) 242 points; 13. Cchiranjeev R. Bedi (IND/Engstler Bollywood racing) 212 points; 14. Dennis Vollmair (GER/Engstler Racing) 190 points; 15. Jack Lemvard (THA/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) 152 points; 16. Huzair Harun (MAS/Team Meritus) 128 points.

Rookie Cup 1. Jamison 486; 2. Mitchell 422; 3. Khushlani 376; 4. Shiromoto 330; 5. McDonagh 313; 6. Zhu 300; 7. Adzmi 297; 8. Moh 276; 9. Shaharom 242; 10. R. Bedi 212; 11. Vollmair 190; 12. Harun 128.

Nations Cup 1. Malaysia, 133; 2. Thailand, 122; 3. Indonesia 108; 4. Hong Kong 95; 5. South Africa 89; 6. India 82; 7. China 56; 8. USA 53; 9. Japan 48; 10. Germany 32.

Teams 1. CIMB Team Qi-Meritus 1293; 2. Eurasia Motorsport 798; 3. Team Holzer PFX 693; 4. Team E-Rain 643; 5. Team TARADTM 516; 6. Engstler Motorsport 230; 7. Engstler Bollywood Motorsport 172.

Winners 2007: Jazeman Jaafar (7); James Grunwell (3); Zahir Ali (5); Jack Lemvard (1)

Pole Positions: Jazeman Jaafar (4); Zahir Ali (9); James Grunwell (2); Jack Lemvard (1)

Podiums: Jazeman Jaafar (12); James Grunwell (11); Zahir Ali (8); Kyle Mitchell (7); David Zhu (2); Ross Jamison (4); Johan Adzmi (1); Sean McDonagh (1); Jack Lemvard (2)

Rookie Cup Winners: Mitchell (9); Jamison (6); McDonagh (1)

Formula BMW is the world’s leading entry-level class in Formula racing. In 2007 the series will be held in Germany, the UK, Asia and the USA. Up-and-coming drivers as young as 15-years-old are given the opportunity of entering motor racing with the high-tech, standard FB02 race car.

This racing car has been seen on the grid since 2002 and has set standards particularly on the safety technology front. The single-seater is propelled by a 140 bhp BMW engine up to 230km/h and exceeds the FIA safety requirements for its class. BMW Motorsport has developed the FORS Formula Rescue Race Seat especially for Formula BMW. The HANS safety system is also mandatory.

In 2007, Formula BMW will be staged four times as part of the Formula One support programme. All the series offer a multifaceted Education and Coaching Programme as well as sponsorship for promising racing talents. The best-known alumni of this talent hothouse are Formula One drivers Sebastian Vettel, Timo Glock, Adrian Sutil and Nico Rosberg.

BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen: "Formula BMW offers talented young drivers more than just a car. In the Education and Coaching Programme we have designed specially for them, they learn everything they need to know to hold their own in the big wide world of motor racing. Formula BMW has shot out of the blocks to become the top entry-level class for Formula racing worldwide."

- Nikki Kemp-  also photo