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.