Indonesian Zahir Ali (20/Team TARADTM) clinched the Driver Classification today in the final round of the 2007 Formula BMW Asia series, while South African Formula BMW Junior Kyle Mitchell (16/Eurasia Motorsport) won the Rookie Cup title after a superb final showdown with fellow Junior Hong Kong’s Ross Jamison (17/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus).

After Round 22, and following receipt of a post-race scrutineering report, Race Stewards issued a Decision to exclude the cars of Jazeman Jaafar (MAS/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) and Jack Lemvard (THA/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) for a technical infringement of the regulations. In view of the severity of the offence and the fact that the same team had contravened the Technical Regulations on an earlier occasion during the season, the Decision also included the exclusion of CIMB Team Qi-Meritus from the Formula BMW Asia Series 2007.

The Decision put Malaysian teenager Jazeman 2nd in the Driver Classification at the end of the season, just one point behind Ali. James Grunwell (18/THA/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus), like Ali completing his second Formula BMW Asia season, finished 3rd in the Driver Classification, with Rookie Cup winner Mitchell 4th.

Ali gave new Team TARADTM an excellent result in its debut season, his second, despite facing challenges at the start of the year: "At one point this season we were about 100 points behind, but by the end we were right in the championship picture and our pace was there." Ali himself is looking towards making a move to Formula 3 for next season.

Jamison missed the title by just seven points having topped the leaderboard for most of the season. The series’ first driver from the USA, Sean McDonagh (18/Team E-Rain) was 3rd.

Eurasia Motorsport, who fielded newly-crowned Rookie Cup winner Mitchell and fellow Formula BMW Asia Junior Akhil Khushlani (IND/18/Eurasia Motorsport) won the Team Classification by 19 points from Team Holzer PFX.

Changes to the results of Round 19, run yesterday, saw Mitchell and Ali handed 30 second time penalties for overtaking under a yellow flag, so the pair had their work cut out for today’s final two rounds of the 2007 season.

Jazeman scored a superb victory from 8th on the grid in the penultimate round of the season with a comfortable margin of almost 6 seconds from Colombian Sebastian Saavedra (17/Ao’s Racing). That gave the Malaysian a 43 point lead from Ali, and put the title so close he could taste it. Mitchell crossed the line in 3rd, seizing the lead of the Rookie Cup title chase from Jamison in the process.

In the final race, Jazeman once again showed his undoubted talent by crossing the line first, followed by Jack Lemvard (CIMB/Team Qi-Meritus) and Ali. Mitchell finished ahead of Jamison, thereby clinching the Rookie Cup title.

Round 21 saw Grunwell get away well from pole, with Mitchell getting by Ali on Lap 2, but it was Jazeman who was on a charge from the fourth row of the grid. The Malaysian was up to 2nd by the end of lap 4, making his move on Grunwell to grab the lead just three laps later. So delighted was the youngster, particularly after two miserable outings the previous day, that he was punching the air even before crossing the line. Saavedra, winner of both rounds yesterday, crossed the line 2nd having started from the third row of the grid, ahead of Mitchell who brilliantly kept his Rookie Cup aspirations alive after the disappointment of his time penalty in Round 19. The South African did well to keep his head when, in the closing stages he came under attack from first Saavedra and then the hard-charging Ali.

Said Mitchell, who displayed maturity beyond his years to keep himself in the Rookie Cup running while coming under intense pressure: "I needed the points for the Rookie Cup. Sebastian was right on my tail and I couldn’t fight him off as I didn’t have the brakes. I didn’t want to crash because I knew I needed the points."

In Round 22 Jazeman started from pole and didn’t put a wheel wrong throughout what was to prove a dramatic final race. However Lemvard and Mitchell got by Saavedra at the start going in to 2nd and 3rd behind the Malaysian. Formula BMW Junior David Zhu collided with Grunwell, and the Thai crashed out, bringing out the red flag.

Saavedra pulled into the pits after the red flag, and restarted from pit lane when the race resumed behind the Safety Car. As the Safety Car pulled off, Jazeman and Lemvard fought it out with the Thai briefing grabbing the lead. Mitchell got up to 2nd briefly, but ran wide allowing Lemvard and Ali by.

Jamison was on the hunt for the Rookie Cup title, and had climbed through the field and was on Mitchell’s tail by lap 7. The pair were stuck together like glue, with Jamison making two final brave attempts to get by his adversary, both of which were ultimately unsuccessful.

Next up for the newly-crowned Formula BMW Asia champion Ali, along with runner-up Jazeman and series newcomer Lemvard, will be the Formula BMW World Final in Valencia on 24th and 25th November 2007. Thirty five drivers from 19 nations will battle it out at the "Circuit de la Comunitat Ricardo Tormo" for a chance to take a test drive with the BMW Sauber F1 Team. All four international Formula BMW series, in which points and victories were fiercely contested in 2007, are sending their best drivers to Spain.

With Mitchell and Jamison proving the power of the Formula BMW Scholarship programme with their tremendous performances this season, evaluations to find the next crop of Formula BMW Asia Juniors, each of whom will be awarded a 50,000 Euro (approximately 70,000 USD) cash contribution to their season and a full year in the unrivalled E&C Programme free of charge, will be held between December 13 and 16 at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit.

Entries are now open to anyone aged between 16 and 21, and can be made through Formula BMW Asia Series Manager Matthijs Hoitink at Matthijs.Hoitink@partner.formulabmw.com

Round 21 Results.

1 33 Jazeman JAAFAR (MAS) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus 20:35.308

2 31 Sebastian SAAVEDRA# (COL) Ao’s Racing# +5.914

3 28 Kyle MITCHELL*• (RSA) Eurasia Motorsport +6.506

4 8 Zahir ALI (INA) Team TARADTM +6.915

5 78 Jack LEMVARD (THA) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +7.781

6 38 James GRUNWELL (THA) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +8.811

7 5 Imran SHAHAROM• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +13.350

8 68 David ZHU*• (CHN) CIMB Team Qi- Meritus +14.653

9 58 Huzair HARUN RASIP• CIMB Team Qi- Meritus +15.193

10 32 Tom GLADDIS# (GBR) Ao’s Racing# +20.189

11 11 Melvin MOH• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +25.866

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

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

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

- 88 Ross JAMISON*• (HKG) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus DNF

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

Pole Position: James Grunwell/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus

Fastest Lap: Jazeman Jaafar/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus/1:41.455/152.58kph

1 8 Zahir ALI (INA) Team TARADTM 26:19.502

2 28 Kyle MITCHELL*• (RSA) Eurasia Motorsport +3.381

3 88 Ross JAMISON*• (HKG) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus +3.598

4 5 Imran SHAHAROM• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +4.562

5 32 Tom GLADDIS# (GBR) Ao’s Racing# +4.761

6 11 Melvin MOH• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +13.269

7 2 Sean MC DONAGH• (USA) Team E-Rain +13.558

8 7 Shohei SHIROMOTO*• (JPN) Team E-Rain +25.294

31 Sebastian SAAVEDRA# (COL) Ao’s Racing# DNF

77 Johan ADZMI• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX DNF

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

58 Huzair HARUN RASIP• CIMB Team Qi- Meritus DNF

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

33 Jazeman JAAFAR (MAS) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus DSQ

78 Jack LEMVARD (THA) CIMB Team Qi-Meritus DSQ

27 Akhil KHUSHLANI*• (IND) Eurasia Motorsport DNS

Pole Position: Jazeman Jaafar/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus

Fastest Lap: Zahir Ali/Team TARADTM/1:42.310/151.30kph

Official Championship Points Tables after Round 22.

Driver Classification. 1. Zahir Ali (INA/Team TARADTM) 724 points; 2. Jazeman Jaafar (MAS/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) 723 points; 3. James Grunwell (THA/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) 661 points; 4. Kyle Mitchell (RSA/Eurasia Motorsport) 609.5 points 5. Ross Jamison (HKG/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) 602.5 points; 6. Sean McDonagh (USA/Team E-Rain) 465 points; 7. Shohei Shiromoto (JPN/Team E-Rain) 449 points; 8. Melvin Moh (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 429 points; 9. Akhil Khushlani (IND/Eurasia Motorsport) 418 points; 10. David Zhu (CHN/Team Meritus) 404 points; 11. Imran Shaharom (MAS/Team Holzer) 395 points; 12. Johan Adzmi (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 367 points; 13. Jack Lemvard (THA/CIMB Team Qi-Meritus) 284 points; 14. Huzair Harun (MAS/Team Meritus) 232 points; 15. Cchiranjeev R. Bedi (IND/Engstler Bollywood racing) 228 points; 16. Dennis Vollmair (GER/Engstler Racing) 190 points

Rookie Cup 1. Mitchell 609.5; 2. Jamison 602.5; 3. McDonagh 465; 4. Shiromoto 449; 5. Moh 429; 6. Khushlani 418; 7. Zhu 404; 8. Shaharom 395; 9. Adzmi 367; 10. Harun 232; 11. R. Bedi 228; 12. Vollmair 190.

Nations Cup 1. Malaysia, 181.5; 2. Thailand, 162; 3. Indonesia 149.5; 4. South Africa 128; 5. Hong Kong 119; 6. India 90; 7. USA 82; 8. China 76; 9. Japan 71.5; 10. Germany 32.

Teams 1. Eurasia Motorsport 1028; 2. Team Holzer PFX 1009; 3. Team E-Rain 914; 4. Team TARADTM 714; 5. Engstler Motorsport 230; 6. Engstler Bollywood Motorsport 188.

Winners 2007: Jazeman Jaafar (9); James Grunwell (3); Zahir Ali (6); Jack Lemvard (1), Sebastian Saavedra (3)

Pole Positions: Jazeman Jaafar (6); Zahir Ali (10); James Grunwell (3); Jack Lemvard (1); Ross Jamison (1); Sebastian Saavedra (1)

Podiums: Jazeman Jaafar (15); James Grunwell (12); Zahir Ali (12); Kyle Mitchell (11); David Zhu (2); Ross Jamison (5); Jack Lemvard (3); Saavedra (4); Johan Adzmi (1); Sean McDonagh (1);

Rookie Cup Winners: Mitchell (14); Jamison (6); McDonagh (1); Shaharom (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, HongKong - also photo