Formula BMW USA - Rounds 9 & 10 - Barber Motorsports Park - Preview

Formula BMW USA begins the second-half of its 2005 season at Barber
Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on July 28-31. A new circuit
for the series, the twisting 2.3-miles of Barber Motorsports Park will
be quickly followed by Formula BMW USA's second visit to the streets of
Denver, Colorado for the Aug. 11-14 Denver Grand Prix. These two
weekends are sure to prove critical in the hopes of the Formula BMW USA
drivers with a chance at the Overall and Rookie crowns before the final
weekend of the season at Road Atlanta on Sept. 30 - Oct. 1. Three BMW
Junior drivers, Kevin Lacroix, of St-Eustache, Quebec; Frenchman
Richard Philippe, of Key Biscayne, Florida; and Robert Wickens, of
Etobicoke, Ontario, stand in the top-three of both the Overall and
Rookie Championships, sharing seven of eight wins to-date among
themselves. Lacroix, 16, has led the Overall points since his opening
victory in Round 1 and has two additional wins in his column, but three
finishes out of the points means he only has a three-point advantage on
Philippe and Wickens, who are tied in second. Lacroix is on top for
now, but knows his three point cushion is not much. "For sure I
want to try to win the races," he says. "But first of all, I
must finish since I had three crashes in past races. I am very happy to
lead the Championship points since the first race at Laguna Seca. A
Championship in my first year of open-wheel racing would be very good
for my future. Since the USGP, I have trained and tried to stay
relaxed." Richard, the younger brother of Champ Car driver Nelson
Philippe, has shown speed well beyond what would be expected of a 15
year old in his first year of racing car competition. He has four pole
positions to his credit, but, like Lacroix, Philippe's three wins have
been tempered by three poor finishes. He knows what he must do.
"Maybe I will be a little bit more cautious, but must take risks
to win races. Winning means scoring the most points. Fighting for the
Championship is part of racing, but I don't feel more pressure than
earlier in the season. There are a lot of good drivers and if I make
any mistakes I am finished." Wickens (16) has one victory and has
always finished in the top-10. Four times a podium-finisher, Wickens
has been the model of consistency and that has him at the top of the
Rookie points. "I will race in the same way I have all year,"
he said. "Stay on the track and not crash. It is amazing. I never
thought that I would be second in Championship points and actually be
leading the Rookie points. Anything can happen on the track and I want
to make sure it is only good." The other twenty-some drivers in
the field are sure to give Lacroix, Philippe and Wickens a run. Many
have shown new speed in recent Rounds and Barber may reveal a new
contender. In the middle of the six weeks since Rounds 7 and 8 at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 11 teams took advantage of a two-day test
at Putnam Park in Indianapolis, Ind., to keep in tune. Practice will
be held on Friday, July 29 at 8:00 to 8:25 and 11:20 to 11:45 a.m.,
followed by the Round 9 qualifying session at 4:30 p.m. Round 10
qualifying will be held at 8:30 to 8:50 a.m. Saturday with the Round 9
race scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m. The Round 10 race is scheduled to
start at 4:25 p.m. Sunday. Championship points after 8 of 14 races: 1.
Kevin Lacroix (AIM Autosport, 87), 2. Richard Philippe (Team
Autotecnica, 84), 3. Robert Wickens (Team Apex Racing USA, 84), 4.
Maxime Soulet (Gelles Racing, 67), 5. Reed Stevens (HBR Motorsport Team
USA, 57), 6. James Davison (HBR Motorsport Team USA, 55), 7. Edoardo
Piscopo (EuroInternational, 26), 8. Tom Sutherland (HBR Motorsport Team
USA, 26), 9. John Zartarian (Jensen MotorSport, 23), 10. Tobias
Hegewald (Atlantic Racing Team, 22), 11. Jonathan Summerton (Walker
Racing, 22), 12. Justin Moon (Gelles Racing, 21), 13. Rob Bunker (AIM
Autosport, 18), 14. Daniel Herrington (Jensen MotorSport, 18), 15. Race
Johnson (HBR Motorsport Team USA, 10), 16. Matthew Lee (Twintooth/BRM
Motorsport, 8), 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)
Rookies: 1. Robert Wickens (97), 2. Kevin Lacroix (90), 3. Richard
Philippe (89), 4. Reed Stevens (66), 5. James Davison (61), 6. Edoardo
Piscopo (34), 7. Rob Bunker (31), 8. John Zartarian (31), 9. Justin
Moon (30), 10. Race Johnson (26), 11. Tobias Hegewald (22), 12. Darin
Marcus (19), 13. Adrien Herberts (19), 14. Matthew Lee (18), 15. Doug
Boyer (10), 16. Ryan Campbell (3), 17. Jules Duc (2), 18. Nathan
DePagter (0), 19. Ryan Phinny (0) Statistics: Winners 2005: Lacriox
(3), Philippe (3), Wickens (1), Davison (1) Pole Positions: Philippe
(4), Hegewald (2), Summerton (2) Podiums: Lacroix (3), Soulet (3),
Philippe (2), Stevens (2), Davison (1), Piscopo (1), Moon (1), Hegewald
(1), Wickens (2), Summerton (1) 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 exceeds by far 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.