Formula BMW Pacific has announced the final round of the 2008 season will be run as part of the prestigious Macau Grand Prix from November 13 to 16, giving the region’s finest junior single seater racers a unique opportunity to tackle the legendary Guia street circuit.
In what will be an exciting opportunity to showcase the successful entry-level formula, the Formula BMW Pacific season finale will also be open to drivers from Formula BMW Europe and Formula BMW Americas, creating a grid of the world’s brightest fledgling stars.
The addition of the Macau fixture bolsters an already-impressive Formula BMW Pacific calendar which also includes support races at no fewer than three rounds of the FIA Formula One World Championship this year in Malaysia, Singapore and Shanghai.
The Macau Grand Prix race programme includes the FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup, the unofficial "world cup" of the category, which has been won in the past by former Formula One Champions Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.
BMW SauberF1 Team drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld both competed at Macau. Heidfeld took pole position in 1996, while Kubica’s 2004 performance, which saw him finish 2nd, brought him to the attention of Dr. Theissen.
The chance to compete on the demanding Guia Circuit and gain experience which could very well prove pivotal to a young driver’s career in the future will be irresistible to all the Formula BMW drivers, and demand for places at Macau is expected to be high.
Says Kubica: "Macau is one of my favorite tracks. It is a great opportunity for young drivers on one of the most challenging tracks in the world. It has some very quick corners. If you have not raced here you have missed something. If I would get the chance to race it in a Formula BMW I would love to do it."
The Macau Grand Prix race programme also includes the final round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (FIA WTCC). For the last three years, the championship title has been won at Macau by BMW driver Andy Priaulx. BMW cars won Macau’s Guia Race, the forerunner to the FIA WTCC, 16 times in over 33 years.
The 6.2km Guia Circuit, which is just seven metres at its narrowest point, is a mixture of fast straights, a series of complex kinks at the back of the circuit, and the famous tight hairpin bend. The high-speed precision it demands requires a cool head and, with virtually no runoff areas, the Armco barriers and walls are unforgiving of the smallest driver error.
A practice session is scheduled for Thursday, November 13, with qualifying on the Saturday afternoon, and the 10-lap race to be held on Sunday morning.
Background:
Formula BMW is the world’s leading entry-level series in formula racing. In 2008 the three Formula BMW series – Formula BMW Europe, Formula BMW Pacific and Formula BMW Americas – will be held in the key motor sport markets of Europe, pan-Asia and North and South America. The end of the year will see the Formula BMW World Final staged for the fourth time. The winner will be granted the opportunity of a test drive with the BMW Sauber F1 Team. Formula BMW will be held on the undercard of Formula One on 12 occasions. The series gives young racing talents the chance to enter professional motor sport in a safe racing car – the Formula BMW FB02.
The FB02 has been in use since season 2002. It is powered by a 140 hp BMW engine that takes it to a top speed of up to 230 km/h. It ranks among the safest vehicles in its category and exceeds the FIA safety regulations that govern this class of car. Innovations such as the FORS (Formula Rescue Seat) were developed by BMW Motorsport specifically for Formula BMW. Following Formula One, Formula BMW was the first single-seater series outside the US in which the HANS system was made mandatory.
Formula BMW drivers have the opportunity to take part in an Education and Coaching Programme that runs parallel with the racing season. The programme includes driver coaching at the races by professional race drivers, attending a Formula One test, fitness courses, tuition in driving technique and strategy, as well as seminars on sponsoring and sport management.
Among the 20 team drivers in this season’s Formula One, there are now four Formula BMW graduates: Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil, Sebastian Vettel and Timo Glock. The test and reserve drivers add three more to the tally, namely Christian Klien, Sebastien Buemi and Nicolas Hülkenberg.
In the words of BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen: "With our worldwide Formula BMW concept, we offer drivers and teams a platform which, in this format, is unprecedented in a junior series and which allows them to benefit from our Formula One involvement. Through Formula BMW the drivers are equipped with the tools they need to assert themselves successfully in the world of professional motor racing."
- Nikki Kemp, HongKong -
