The Grid.co.uk    the national & club motor racing website - est1998          

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Final Championship Positions after 14 Rounds

1.Daniel Morad   478     

2.Esteban Gutierrez  436           

3.Alexander Rossi 410   

4.Maxime Pelletier 382  

5.Steven Guerrero 378  

6.Robert Thorne  367    

7.Yannick Hofman 363  

8.Ricardo Favoretto   345          

9.Jordan Dick  332       

10.Philip Major  298      

Formula BMW USA 2007

Daniel Morad - Winner and Champion

Daniel Morad (Eurointernational) ended the 2007 Formula BMW USA season as he began it - a winner. After clinching the Overall title yesterday with a fourth-place finish in Round 13, the 17- year old Canadian added a record sixth win today.

Morad led from the pole and was never passed in the 16-lap race at Mosport International Raceway, finishing .652 seconds ahead of season-long rival Esteban Gutierrez (Autotecnica). Morad set a new race record on lap nine with a 1:23.464 minute lap. 16-year old Gutierrez, from Monterrey, Mexico, won this season's Rookie Championship earlier this month at Road America and finished second to Morad in the Overall point standings. He took a record nine poles this year, winning four times.

Maxime Pelletier (HBR Motorsport Team USA) finished third, the fifth time this season the second-year Formula BMW USA driver has podiumed. HBR Motorsport teammates Junior Ricardo Favoretto and Steven Gurerrero rounded out the top-five finishers.

There was no question about the weather for today's race as a bright afternoon sun shone on the 14-car grid. Morad answered the green lights with a great start, opening up a 2.4 second gap to Gutierrez by the time the race's only yellow flag flew for a lap nine crash by Mike Hill (Team KMA Racing). The field followed the BMW M Coupe safety car until the green flag waved to begin lap 13 with Morad, Gutierrez, Pelletier, Alexander Rossi (Team Apex Racing USA) and Favoretto in the top-five. Favoretto and Guerrero moved up in the final two laps as Rossi faded to sixth.

Morad's Eurointernational won their second consecutive Formula BMW USA Team Championship.

Morad said, "Formula BMW USA has meant so much to me. There are so many aspects to this series that help you, but ultimately they make sure it is up to the driver. 6 wins, 10 podiums and the championship - I couldn't ask for much more, could I?"

Gutierrez said, "Three years ago I convinced my mom and dad to buy me a go kart so to finish second overall and win the Rookie championship in my first season in formula car racing is like a dream come true."

Pelletier said, "I am disappointed not to have won this year, but after changing teams and finishing on the podium five times I know this year was a success. I led at Indy and almost won at Lime Rock, but came up a little bit short. I know what I have learned in two seasons of Formula BMW USA will serve me well as I move ahead."

The top-finishing Rookie drivers were Gutierrez (P2), Ricardo Favoretto (P4), Eric Morrow (P11) and Timothy Hollowell (P12).

As Formula BMW USA continues developing plans for 2008 and following years, one more major event is on the calendar of many Formula BMW USA competitors this season - the Formula BMW World Final in Valencia, Spain on November 24-25th with its grand prize to the winner - a test with the BMW Sauber F1 Team.

Rossi Takes Third in the Championship

In his rookie year Alexander Rossi ends the Formula BMWUSA season in third 

  Alexander Rossi receives the trophy for third in championship (photo courtesy Team Rossi Motorsports)

His previous day's commanding victory, when Alexander Rossi had lead by over 30 seconds in treacherous conditions, was always going to be difficult act to follow. The fact that qualifying for the final round of the Formula BMWUSA championship had been cancelled due to heavy fog at Mosport was perhaps a portent that round 14 couldn't scale the highs of round 13. 

However, the Californian teenager's sixth placed finish in the race was enough to secure him third in the overall championship standings - a tremendous feat for a driver in his rookie season in what is possibly the closest fought open-wheel championship in North America.

"Of Course I set out trying to win the championship," said Rossi, "but it being my rookie year we had to have realistic expectations so, you know, I'm very pleased to finish third in the championship. I think we've put together some pretty good results and we hope to continue our successes at the FBMW World Finals in Valencia later this year." 

It is typical of the pure racer that Rossi is that he is thinking about his next race within hours of the current season ending, but it is this true driver's hunger for more that has propelled him to so many successes already, despite still being a mere 15 years of age. 

From taking a podium in his first race of the year, through to his three wins at consecutive events to close the season, Rossi has proved time and again that he is one of the finest raw talents that North America has to offer right now. 

But getting him to focus one last time on the past season before he leaves to concentrate on the future Rossi said, "Our breakout win at my 'home' event at San José in front of all the friends and family that came out to watch me was pretty incredible, also racing at Indianapolis was pretty cool just to be able to say I'm one of the very few who have gotten to drive there. But although I've enjoyed so much this season, I'm now just looking forward on the next time I can get back in the car and go racing at the World Finals, and continuing where I left off this weekend."

Rossi Takes Win Number Three at Mosport

Alexander Rossi tastes victory again in penultimate round

Bowmanville, ON -  Having won two of the last four races Alexander Rossi came to Mosport International Speedway carrying momentum with him. "We were very, very, very fast out of the box," he smiled, "in every session we've been P1 for the first 10 minutes or so. The car has been very good and we've just worked on getting it perfect." 

If his car was perfect, the weather has been anything but; a torrential downpour moments before the qualifying session for round 13 had everyone guessing which tires to fit, "We actually went to the grid on rain tires but then decided to switch onto slicks." Rossi explained, but the switch obviously was the correct decision and Rossi qualified third for round 13. However, it was an inspired call from Rossi and the Team Apex Racing squad to switch this time from dry to wet weather tires moments before the race that really paid dividends.  

Alexander and his team-mate were the only drivers to take on rain tires and when the heavens opened on lap two, the entire field slithered towards pit lane for the correct rubber and Rossi romped into the distance, opening a massive 32 second gap on everyone else and easily setting the race's fastest lap as he went. In fact he was heading for a series' record-breaking margin of victory before a late yellow meant the race ended bunched up under caution. 

"My engineer Nick had been going to AGR very frequently to check on their radar system. Every other team were on dry tires, the sun was shining, they thought we were being ridiculous but about two laps in it started to pour down rain..." laughed Rossi after the podium celebrations -where he was joined by team-mate Robert Thorne who went from ninth to second thanks to Apex Racing's tire choice - "It's incredible! The team are jumping up and down they're so happy."

Rossi currently lays third in the championship points table, but his brilliant win puts him a mere eight points behind the second place driver, and everything to play for in tomorrow's final round.

Gutierrez leads start to finish at Road America

Esteban Gutierrez (Autotecnica), of Monterrey, Mexico, took the Round 12 Formula BMW USA victory from his record eighth pole of the season today at Road America.

He led from standing start to checkered flag, finishing .402 seconds ahead of Adrien Tambay (Eurointernational) in the 10-lap race. The win was his fourth of the year and extends his lead in the Rookie point standings and consolidates his second place in the Overall point standings.

Tambay, a Formula BMW Germany Junior and Rookie, finished third in yesterday’s Round 11 race, both weekend podium finishes coming from the outside front row starting spot. Tambay was also credited with the fastest lap of the race, 2:18.321 minutes on the final lap.

Eurointernational teammate and Overall point standings leader Daniel Morad (Eurointernational) finished third. This is the 17-year old Canadian’s ninth podium of the year that includes five wins, three seconds and one third.

Philip Major (Autotecnica) and Robert Thorne (Team Apex Racing USA) finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Gutierrez and Tambay quickly established a gap on the first lap. Behind them the racing was very close with Ricardo Favoretto (HBR Motorsport Team USA) in third, strongly challenged by Round 11 winner Alexander Rossi (Team Apex Racing) resulting in Rossi spun off the track and rejoined the race at the back of the field. Favoretto was assessed a drive through penalty for avoidable contact and after failing to report to pit lane for the penalty, he was not scored for the final three laps.

The top-finishing Rookie drivers were Gutierrez (P1), Tambay (P2), Eric Morrow (P10), Timothy Hollowell (P12) and Favoretto (P16).

Winner Gutierrez said, “My job was to get a gap on the first lap. Yesterday I was passing cars and today was very different. It was a nice change to not have cars in front of me and to focus on consistent lapping and not make mistakes. It was a good race.”

Tambay added, “Perhaps I woke up too late. I made a charge in the last two laps with the draft, but Esteban was really fast. I was closing in the final laps and I am not sure I could win, but it was a very good result to come here and get two podiums. Thank you to my team Eurointernational for a great car.”

Morad commented, “Coming into this race, I knew I had to score points for the championship and by finishing third it will be up to me to finish more than 51% of the next race. After yesterday, the team really got behind me and motivated me to focus. I owe this finish to my team who stayed very late to give me a great car. I drove more conservatively today and fell back at the start but I thought I could get third so I tried and managed to get it on the last lap”

Morad still leads the Overall point standings over Gutierrez, Rossi, Pelletier and Guerrero.

The final two rounds of the championship will be held at Mosport International Raceway in support of ALMS on August 24-26, 2007.

Round 12 – Results (10 laps)

1 Esteban Gutierrez (R) Autotecnica 23:13.881
2 Adrien Tambay (R) EUROINTERNATIONAL 23:14.283
3 Daniel Morad EUROINTERNATIONAL 23:22.292
4 Philip Major Autotecnica 23:22.749
5  Robert Thorne Team Apex Racing USA 23:29.036
6 Yannick Hofman EUROINTERNATIONAL 23:29.962
7 Steven Guerrero HBR Motorsport Team USA 23:31.503
8 Julia Landauer Team KMA Racing 23:34.547
9 Alexander Rossi Team Apex Racing USA 23:36.818
10 Eric Morrow (R) Hearn Motorsports 23:37.788
11 Mike Hill Team KMA Racing 23:40.058
12 Timothy Hollowell (R) Team KMA Racing 23:41.976
13 Jordan Dick JD Racing 23:43.461
14 Maxime Pelletier HBR Motorsport Team USA 23:53.568
15 Jordan Lynch Hearn Motorsport 23:53.660
16 Ricardo Favoretto (R)* HBR Motorsport Team USA 16:22.762 Not Running

*Car 34 not scored for laps 8-10 for failure to obey black flag

Alexander Rossi wins FBMWUSA round 11 after a brilliant drive

They say every cloud has a silver lining and it certainly proved to be the case for Alexander Rossi in round 11 of the Formula BMWUSA championship. The beautiful Road America racetrack in rural Wisconsin was bathed in heavy cloud this morning, so thick that the drivers were instructed by race officials to run with their ‘rain lights’ on, but Rossi came through the gloom to record his second victory of the season.

Starting from third on the grid, Rossi kept his cool during the frantic first lap and allowed himself to be drafted by a couple of cars rather than risk everything when there were another 30 minutes of racing to go.

“On the opening lap I got freight-trained by two cars into turn five.” Said Rossi, “but you know I just kept my head and started taking them one car at a time.”

The first move was a bold drive into Canada Corner – around the outside –, which netted Rossi third place, and was shortly followed by another audacious outside move, this time into turn one, that gained the Californian third position. But the move for the lead was perhaps the most remarkable of all.

With three laps to go Rossi caught the leading duo hurtling down the Moraine Sweep that leads into turn five. “Well I got a really good two-car tow,” he explained, “and I just popped out of the tow at the right time and I outbroke them both.” It was a sensational move that saw Rossi scythe down the inside of two cars to steal a lead he would not relinquish to the flag despite huge pressure over the last half-lap. Alexander’s margin of victory was 0.004 of a second.

Asked how well his team had prepared the car Rossi had to pause in mid-answer, such was his respect for his crew. “The car was… fantastic.” he breathed, “It stayed with me the whole way, it was incredible. We are now looking forward to another really good race tomorrow.” 

Autotecnica's Esteban Gutierrez  of Monterrey, Mexico, won Round 10

Autotecnica's Esteban Gutierrez  of Monterrey, Mexico, won Round 10 of the 2007 Formula BMW USA Championship today at the San Jose Grand Prix from his record-setting seventh pole of the season. Leading from standing-start to chequered, Gutierrez finished 4.685 seconds ahead of Daniel Morad (Eurointernational) in the 26-lap race. With his third win of the season Gutierrez consolidates his led in the Rookie point standings and moves to second in the Overall points. Morad, who set a new race lap record (1:02.497) on his way to adding a third podium finish to his five season victories, retains the lead in the Overall standings. Rookie Junior driver Ricardo Favoretto (HBR Motorsport Team USA) finished third to cap the best weekend of his career.

Maxime Pelletier of HBR Motorsport Team USA,finished fourth and Philip Major, Autotecnica,finished fifth.

The top-finishing Rookie drivers were Gutierrez (P1), Favoretto (P3), Eric Morrow (P7) and Timothy Hollowell (P9).

Due to damage in the warm up, Junior driver Jeffrey Petriello sustained damage that prevented him from joining the race. The 15-car field got off to a clean start with Gutierrez holding the lead over Morad into Turn 1. They were able to open a gap as Yannick Hofman's (Eurointernational) progress was hampered after Robert Thorne (Team Apex Racing USA) spun him out. Both were able to continue, Thorne with a damaged front wing. Round 9 winner Alexander Rossi (Team Apex Racing USA) ended his day early after tapping the wall in Turn 3. He was forced to retire with a broken left rear suspension, bringing out the only caution period of the day.

The field settled down after the lap 3 restart with Pelletier giving chase to Favoretto. Although action continued in the rear of the field, the finishing order remained unchanged.

"We had some tough luck this weekend." said Gutierrez. "Crashing in practice and missing qualifying, and yesterday's technical exclusion. To qualify for pole for the second race I had to put everything behind me and focus on the moment and forget the past and keep going forward. It is good to win."

Championship points leader Morad commented, "Yesterday was my fault and I feel bad for my team because I pushed past the limit when I was running in second place. It cost my team valuable points, but I am glad to have raced a clean race and extend the points lead with a strong second place today."

Favoretto added, "Without a chance to do pre-season testing, I was afraid I would not be able to get to a point where I could get to the podium in my rookie season. I learn more every race and the team is working very well and everything is coming together. I am very happy to be on the podium and hope to do it again soon."

Sebastian Saavedra takes round 7, round 8 to Daniel Morad

Round 7: Saavedra Breaks Through for First Win

17-year old Sebastian Saavedra (Eurointernational), of Bogata, Colombia, came from the second starting position to take his first-ever Formula BMW USA victory today at Lime Rock Park. It was all second-year Formula BMW USA drivers on the podium, as Saavedra finished .215 seconds in front of Canadian Maxime Pelletier (HBR Motorsport Team USA) in the 25 lap race around the 1.53-mile circuit. Steven Guerrero (HBR Motorsport Team USA), also from Bogata, finished third.

Jeffrey Petriello (Team KMA) was fourth, the 18-year old Junior driver the top-finishing Rookie in the race. Jordan Dick (JD Racing) finished fifth, the best finish this season for the sophomore Formula BMW USA driver.

The race started under sunny skies and any chance for a fifth win by polesitter Daniel Morad (Eurointernational) ended quickly after he jumped the start and had to serve a drive-through penalty. He finished seventh, the first time this season the Overall point leader has not finished on the podium. He was credited with the fastest lap of the race (51.589, L9).

Pelletier inherited the lead and behind him Esteban Gutierrez (Autotecnica) and Alexander Rossi (Team Apex Racing USA) battled until a collision between the two on lap 11 brought out the yellow flag. Gutierrez slid off the track, out of the race and Rossi came to the pits to have his damaged rear wing removed. Rossi would continue to finish 16th, one lap down to the leaders, and Gutierrez was credited with 17th.

On the restart Saavedra began to challenge Pelletier and as they approached Rossi, slowed by the loss of his wing, on lap 19 Saavedra took the lead with a well-executed pass in turn 1. He held off Pelletier for the remaining six laps to take his first career Formula BMW USA win.

Saaverda said, “From the very beginning of the race I knew I had a good car. After the restart I closed the gap to Maxime and was able to get by him with a good pass. I struggled a bit in qualifying so I am starting fifth in Round 8. If I maintain focus and get my passes done I am confident for another good finish.”

Pelletier said, “I had an awesome start and everything was going well for the win. As we came up on Rossi I braked as late as I could and went wide, but Sebastian had a great run and made the pass. I start eighth in the next race, but if my car is as good as it was in Round 7, I’ll have a good race.”

Guerrero said, “It was a difficult start, but I was able to hold my position. All my thanks to my team for giving me an excellent car. I will need to be more aggressive and focused in the next race.”

The top-finishing Rookie drivers were Petriello (P4), Favoretto (P10), Eric Morrow (P13), Timothy Hollowell (P14) and Gutierrez (P17).

Round 8: Morad Bounces Back to Record His Fifth Victory

Only hours after recording his poorest finish of the season (seventh) in Round 7 Daniel Morad (Eurointernational) recovered to take the Round 8 victory this afternoon at Lime Rock. In taking his fifth win of the season, Morad led from standing start to checkered flag, finishing .165 seconds ahead of Eurointernational teammate Sebastian Saavedra in the 25 lap race. Morad was credited with the fastest lap of the race (51.792, L12). Alexander Rossi (Team Apex Racing USA) finished third for his second podium of the season. Robert Thorne (Team Apex racing USA) finished fourth and Maxime Pelletier (HBR Motorsport Team USA) finished fifth.

Morad got a clean start and was able to open up a significant gap on the field after second place starter Mike Hill (Team KMA) dropped a tire off at the bottom of the downhill and spun across the track. He narrowly missed all of the other cars before hitting the inside tire wall and bending his rear wing. He continued to finish 13th.

Saavedra gave chase as the balance of the top-10 battled for position. Thorne and Rossi broke away to finish in a virtual tie, with Rossi just edging Thorne for the final podium position. Ricardo Favoretto (HBR Motorsport Team USA) and Esteban Gutierrez (Autotecnica) had contact in the final laps with Favoretto finishing 12th and Gutierrez ending the weekend with a second 17th place finish.

With this victory today, Morad becomes the all time leader in Formula BMW USA victories passing 2006 Champion Robert Wickens who had five wins in his career with six rounds to go.

Morad said, “I was a little too ready in Round 7 and jumped the start. This afternoon I got away perfectly and had a 10 second lead after the first lap. I could see Sebastian was on a mission and he brought the gap down to one second. There was traffic at the end of the race and it was frustrating, but everything worked out okay.”

Saavedra said, “When Mike spun at the beginning of the race I was able to move into second. I was able to close on Daniel during the race, but that was the best I could do. A win and a second this weekend - I am very happy.”

Rossi said, “It came down to my teammate Robert and me for third and fourth. I was behind him on the last lap, but I got a great run in the downhill. I went inside and was just able to pull off the pass. This is my first weekend with Team Apex and it feels great to podium.”

The top-finishing Rookie drivers were Eric Morrow (P10), Ricardo Favoretto (P12), Timothy Hollowell (P14), Jeffrey Petriello (P15), and Esteban Gutierrez (P17).

The Formula BMW USA Championship next travels across the country to the San Jose Grand Prix on July 27-29 for Rounds 9 and 10.

Round 7 – Results (25 laps)
1 Sebastian Saavedra EUROINTERNATIONAL 24:58.807
2 Maxime Pelletier HBR Motorsport Team USA 24:59.022
3 Steven Guerrero HBR Motorsport Team USA 25:00.193
4 Jeffrey Petriello Team KMA Racing 25:01.158
5 Jordan Dick JD Racing 25:04.831
6 Matt Ferris Hearn Motorsports 25:05.002
7 Daniel Morad EUROINTERNATIONAL 25:08.366
8 Philip Major Autotecnica 25:09.407
9 Robert Thorne Team Apex Racing USA 25:10.081
10 Ricardo Favoretto (R) HBR Motorsport Team USA 25:10.329
11 Mike Hill Team KMA Racing 25:11.774
12 Yannick Hofman EUROINTERNATIONAL 25:11.917
13 Eric Morrow (R) Hearn Motorsports 25:13.813
14 Timothy Hollowell (R) Team KMA Racing 25:14.434
15 Julia Landauer Team KMA Racing 25:15.529
16 Alexander Rossi Team Apex Racing USA 25:31.412 -1 lap
17 Esteban Gutierrez (R) Autotecnica not running -15 laps

Round 8 – Results (25 laps)
1 Daniel Morad EUROINTERNATIONAL 22:03.077
2 Sebastian Saavedra EUROINTERNATIONAL 22:03.242
3 Alexander Rossi Team Apex Racing USA 22:35.637
4 Robert Thorne Team Apex Racing USA 22:35.637
5 Maxime Pelletier HBR Motorsport Team USA 22:41.041
6 Steven Guerrero HBR Motorsport Team USA 22:41.453
7 Yannick Hofman EUROINTERNATIONAL 22:44.309
8 Jordan Dick JD Racing 22:46.466
9 Matt Ferris Hearn Motorsports 22.47.488
10 Eric Morrow (R) Hearn Motorsports 22:51.337
11 Philip Major Autotecnica 22:53.183
12 Ricardo Favoretto (R) HBR Motorsport Team USA 22:58.332
13 Mike Hill Team KMA Racing 22:59.467
14 Timothy Hollowell (R) Team KMA Racing 23:00.003
15 Jeffrey Petriello Team KMA Racing 23:02.712
16 Julia Landauer Team KMA Racing 23:03.921
17 Esteban Gutierrez (R) Autotecnica 22:51.100 -1 lap

Gutierrez wins round 6 from the pole

Alexander Rossi  (Hearn Motorsports)

Esteban Gutierrez (Team Autotecnica), of Monterrey, Mexico, took a commanding win  in Round 6 of the 2007 Formula BMW USA Championship at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Taking the victory from his sixth consecutive pole, he finished 2.234 seconds ahead of Daniel Morad (Eurointernational) in the 15-lap race around the 2.605-mile Grand Prix circuit. Gutierrez continues to lead the Rookie point standings after his second win of the season and stands second to Morad in the Overall point standings.

Maxime Pelletier (HBR Motorsport Team USA) finished third after a wild race that saw him have a great start from the front row, lead briefly, go off in turn 1 - twice, fall back as far as sixth, and ultimately climb back to finish on the podium for the second time this weekend.

Ricardo Favoretto (HBR Motorsport Team USA) finished fourth for his third top-five finish of the season. Sebastian Saavedra (Eurointernational) finished fifth, setting the fastest lap of the race (1:39.917) on lap 11.

This morning’s race had the United States Grand Prix crowd cheering as the 18 young Formula BMW USA drivers put on a great show. Pelletier grabbed the early lead as the cars funneled into the infield after a clean start, but Gutierrez was soon by him. On lap 2 Pelletier ran off in turn 1 allowing Morad to take second as Adrien Tambay (Eurointernational) and Philip Major (Autotecnica) tangled. Alexander Rossi  (Hearn Motorsports) moved to third, taking the second spot from Morad on lap 6. Gutierrez opened his gap to 2.6 seconds as Rossi, Morad and Pelletier, now back up to fourth, raced each other. Morad took second back on lap 9 as Pelletier went long in turn 1 a second time. By lap 13 Gutierrez and Morad were well clear of the field as Pelletier, Rossi, Favoretto and Saavedra battled for the last step of the podium. Rossi dropped to sixth in the closing laps, the young American recording his fifth top-10 finish of the season.

The top-finishing Rookie drivers today were Gutierrez (P1), Favoretto (P4), Jeffrey Petriello (P8), Eric Morrow (P13) and Timothy Hollowell (P15).

Next on the Formula BMW USA schedule is an Official Test at Putnam Park on June 19. Rounds 7 and 8 will be held in support of the American Le Mans Series at Lime Rock Park, in Lakeville, Conn., on July 6 – 7.

“I still need more experience with the starts to control the wheelspin,“ said Gutierrez. “Once I passed Maxime I then tried to focus on not making any mistakes and break the draft. That was the key to the win.”

Morad said,” I had a great start, but when Maxime moved over I had to swing to the outside of the track and lost some speed. Esteban opened a gap and as Rossi caught and raced me it opened up even a bigger gap. I got back by him and was catching Esteban, but the race was just not long enough.”

Pelletier added,”I had a good start. When Esteban got by me I drafted him into turn 1, but had lost the air on the front of the car and went long under braking. I did it again a second time with four laps to go, but focused on not getting angry with myself. If not for those two mistakes I know I would have done even better. This has been my best weekend ever.”

Round 6 – Results (15 laps)

1 Esteban Gutierrez (R) Team Autotecnica 24:58.866 2 Daniel Morad EUROINTERNATIONAL 25:01.100 3 Maxime Pelletier HBR Motorsport Team USA 25:05.396 4 Ricardo Favoretto (R) HBR Motorsport Team USA 25:07.265 5 Sebastian Saavedra EUROINTERNATIONAL 25:08.205 6 Alexander Rossi Hearn Motorsports 25:08.253 7 Jordan Dick JD Racing 25:09.311 8 Jeffrey Petriello (R) Team KMA Racing 25:10.036 9 Steven Guerrero HBR Motorsport Team USA 25:13.980 10 Yannick Hofman EUROINTERNATIONAL 25:21.264 11 Mike Hill Team KMA Racing 25:22.576 12 Julia Landauer Team KMA Racing 25:24.774 13 Eric Morrow (R) Hearn Motorsports 25:35.780 14 Lindsey Adams Team KMA Racing 25:43.887 15 Timothy Hollowell (R) Team KMA Racing 23:32.016 not running 16 Robert Thorne Team Apex Racing USA 23:32.547 not running 17 Philip Major Team Autotecnica 25:54.823 18 Adrien Tambay (R) EUROINTERNATIONAL 3:29.840 not running

Rossi Runs Sixth In The Championship

Alexander Rossi picks up more points in round 4 of the Formula BMWUSA championship

 Alexander Rossi drove for all he was worth at the Canadian Grand Prix in the Formula BMWUSA race. For fourteen grueling laps he fought his racecar whilst under constant pressure, but the Californian teen never put a wheel wrong. In Utah the previous time out his feisty drives netted him a podium and a fourth place, so it was perhaps a shame that all his hard work in Montréal was rewarded with just 10^th position. 

“After working late last evening we thought we had a handle on the set-up which would allow us to move up through the field.” Said rossi. “I soon realized that I didn’t have the racecar that I’d hoped for today; I battled extreme oversteer followed by understeer which caused me to lose touch with the leaders.” 

Balancing the ill-handling machine on a knife-edge was taking all of the teenager’s considerable skill and he had no chance to fight for position with the leaders, who were able to run over a second quicker than young Rossi. Instead he showed remarkable composure by forcing himself to focus on bringing the recalcitrant car home, and not allowing the machine to pitch him into the fence. “About mid way through the race I changed my focus to bringing the car home for as many points as I could.” He later said. 

Whilst not the unqualified success the opening rounds had been, Montréal was another valuable part of the learning curve as the 15-year-old’s career continues to blossom, and he remains well placed in the hunt for the championship, sixth overall.

“I am disappointed and I had expected a much better outcome, but I’m pleased that the next round is only a week away so I can put the frustrations of this weekend behind me, and can continue to work towards the championship.” 

Rounds five and six of the FBMWUSA championship will be held at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend on June 16^th and 17^th. 

Rossi second in after opening practice at Miller Motorsports Park

Alexander Rossi (right) and Hearn Motorsports teammate Eric Morrow (photo courtesy Team Rossi Motorsports)

If the practice session had been close, the afternoon qualifying session was an even more fraught affair. Rossi quickly established a time good enough for second, but found himself bundled down to fifth by his closest rivals. Unconcerned, the 15-year-old sensation got his head down and began trading fast-laps that kept him in the fight for the top four spots.  

With 10 minutes to go Rossi threw down a sensational lap that vaulted him up to P2. It was still close – Alexander’s time was just 0.009 ahead of his nearest competitor, but this time his rivals were powerless to usurp him and the Californian looked set to start from the front row for Round One.

However it wasn’t over yet. On the very last lap, with the chequered flag signaling the session’s end, Alexander was knocked to third. The Californian flashed over the line moments later, but his last lap wasn’t quite enough to claw back the position, in fact he found himself bumped to fourth when one other rival managed a banzai last-lap and stole third place.

“Obviously we didn’t get pole but we were quicker than we have been all weekend so we were happy with that.” Said Rossi, before adding ominously for his rivals in tomorrow’s opening round of the championship, “I believe I’ve got the whole field covered on cold tires and I’m very confident with my starts.”

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