Formula BMW USA - Round 10 - Barber Motorsports Park - Race

Piscopo wins Round 10 Birmingham, Ala. - July 31, 2005. Edoardo Piscopo
(EuroInternational) capitalized on his first career Formula BMW USA
pole to take the Round 10 victory today at Barber Motorsports Park in
Birmingham, Ala. In leading the race from start to finish, he completed
14 laps of the 2.3-mile circuit in the 30-minute contest, finishing
6.311 seconds ahead of Maxime Soulet (Gelles Racing). James Davison
(HBR Motorsports Team USA) finished third. Piscopo made an excellent
start and was never challenged for the lead by the balance of the
20-car field. Every lap he was able to extend his margin, setting the
fastest lap of the race on lap seven (1:28.224). Soulet also made a
heads-up start from the fifth position and moved up two spots before the
first turn. Overall Points leader Kevin Lacroix started second, but a
spin on the third lap dropped him to an eighth-place finish. He now
leads Richard Philippe by only one point, while Philippe's fourth-place
finish today moves him to the top of the Rookie Points for the first
time this season. Race Johnson continued to have a good weekend,
finishing a season's-best fifth. Piscopo said, "I am very happy
for my team and myself. We really worked hard on the car. We improved
the setup from yesterday because today it was even hotter. The heat
also made it difficult to keep concentration, but I pushed really hard
in the first laps and later I started to manage the car better because I
didn't have to risk too much by driving too fast." Soulet added,
"I had a very good car today. The setup couldn't have been better.
I had an excellent start. I passed James Davison and Richard Philippe
on the start and after three laps Kevin Lacroix made a mistake and I
moved into second position. I want to thank my team for working so hard
this weekend." Davison said, "I got an average start and
Maxime did very well. Richard Philippe was behind me the whole race, 14
laps. It was hard keeping him behind me and I am really happy to have
held him off. My car was better towards the end. I want to thank my
team HBR for doing their best. We got our best qualifying position and
we finished where we started, scoring 12 points." Lacroix continues
to lead the Overall points with 110 points. Philippe is second (109),
and Soulet third (94). Philippe takes over the Rookie points lead with
116 over Lacroix (114) second and Wickens (106) third. The top
finishing Rookies were Piscopo (P1), Davison (P3), Philippe (P4),
Johnson (P5) and Bunker (P6). Rounds 11 and 12 of the 2005 Formula BMW
USA Series will be held on Aug. 12-14 at the Grand Prix of Denver.
Round 10 - Results (14 laps) 1 Edoardo Piscopo, EuroInternational
20:47.463 2 Maxime Soulet, Gelles Racing 20:53.774 3 James Davison,
HBR Motorsport Team USA 20:59.678 4 Richard Philippe, Team Autotecnica
21:00.181 5 Race Johnson, HBR Motorsport Team USA 21:01.308 6 Rob
Bunker, AIM Autosport 21:02.376 7 Robert Wickens, Team Apex Racing USA
21:03.163 8 Kevin Lacroix, AIM Autosport 21:03.835 9 Matthew Lee,
Twintooth/BRM Motorsport 21:08.173 10 Tom Sutherland, HBR Motorsport
Team USA 21:09.306 11 Doug Boyer, Jensen MotorSport 21:09.501 12 Daniel
Herrington, Jensen MotorSport 21:15.560 13 Reed Stevens, HBR
Motorsport Team USA 21:16.085 14 Darin Marcus, Gelles Racing 21:19.210
15 Adrien Herberts, Atlantic Racing Team 21:23.658 16 Justin Moon,
Gelles Racing 21:24.665 17 Ryan Campbell, Gelles Racing 21:30.854 18
Jules Duc, Jensen MotorSport 21:36.763 19 Derek Burseth, Burseth
Racing 21:49.022 20 Dan Abbale, Atlantic Racing Team 8 laps
Championship points after 10 of 14 races: 1. Kevin Lacroix (AIM
Autosport, 110), 2. Richard Philippe (Team Autotecnica, 109), 3. Maxime
Soulet (Gelles Racing, 94), 4. Robert Wickens (Team Apex Racing USA,
89), 5. James Davison (HBR Motorsport Team USA, 77), 6. Reed Stevens
(HBR Motorsport Team USA, 63), 7. Edoardo Piscopo (EuroInternational,
46), 8. Tom Sutherland (HBR Motorsport Team USA, 35), 9. Rob Bunker
(AIM Autosport, 28), 10. Justin Moon (Gelles Racing, 23), 11. John
Zartarian (Jensen MotorSport, 23), 12. Tobias Hegewald (Atlantic Racing
Team, 22), 13. Jonathan Summerton (Walker Racing, 22), 14. Race Johnson
(HBR Motorsport Team USA, 21), 15. Daniel Herrington (Jensen
MotorSport, 18), 16. Matthew Lee (Twintooth/BRM Motorsport, 10), 17.
Adrien Herberts (Atlantic Racing Team, 8), 18. Darin Marcus (Gelles
Racing, 7), 19. Doug Boyer (Jensen MotorSport, 2), 20. Paul Rees (Walker
Racing, 1), 21. Derek Burseth (Burseth Racing, 0), 22. Ryan Campbell
(Gelles Racing, 0), 23. Nathan DePagter (DRE Autosport, 0), 24. Jules
Duc (Jensen MotorSport, 0), 25. Scott Harnell (SDH3 with Cinema
Concepts, 0), 26. Ryan Phinny (Gelles Racing, 0), 27. Paul Rees (Walker
Racing, 0), 28. Robbie Pecorari (Walker Racing, 0), 29. Dan Abbale
(Atlantic Racing Team) Rookies: 1. Richard Philippe (116), 2. Kevin
Lacroix (114), 3. Robert Wickens (106), 4. James Davison (88), 5. Reed
Stevens (77), 6. Edoardo Piscopo (54), 7. Rob Bunker (47), 8. Race
Johnson (42), 9. Justin Moon (34), 10. John Zartarian (31), 11. Matthew
Lee (23), 12. Tobias Hegewald (22), 13. Darin Marcus (20), 14. Adrien
Herberts (19), 15. Doug Boyer (12), 16. Ryan Campbell (3), 17. Jules
Duc (2), 18. Nathan DePagter (0), 19. Ryan Phinny (0) Background:
Formula BMW is the world's leading entry-level class in Formula racing.
In 2005 the series will be held in Germany, Britain, 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 140 mph and by
far exceeds the 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 2005, Formula BMW
will be staged five times as part of the Formula One support program.
All the series offer a multifaceted Education and Coaching Program as
well as sponsorship for promising racing talents. The best-known alumni
of this talent hothouse are Formula One drivers Ralf Schumacher and
Christian Klien. BMW Motorsport Director Dr. Mario Theissen:
"Formula BMW offers talented young drivers more than just a car.
In the Education and Coaching Program 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."
In December 2005 the Bahrain International Circuit will host the first
Formula BMW World Final. Young racing drivers from the four regional
Formula BMW series will compete against each other. The winner will get
a Formula One test drive.