Philippe Wins His Third of the Season at Indy

Indianapolis, Ind. - June 19, 2005. Formula BMW USA Junior driver Richard Philippe (Team Autotecnica) won Round 8 of the 2005 Formula BMW USA Series today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In taking his third win of the season, the 15-year old Frenchman, who makes Key Biscayne, Florida his home, passed polesitter Jonathan Summerton (Walker Racing) before the first turn, finishing 4.2 seconds ahead of Tobias Hegewald (Atlantic Racing Team) in the 13-lap contest. Overall points leader Kevin Lacroix (AIM Autosport) finished third.

Following post-race technical inspection second-place finisher Hegewald was excluded from the results moving Lacroix to second and Wickens to third. Fourth-place finisher Robbie Pecorari (Walker Racing) was also excluded moving the balance of the field up one position.

BMW's Formula1 driver Mark Webber meets the Formula BMW Education and Coaching Programme drivers

Lacroix continues to hold the Overall points lead with 87 points over Philippe and Wickens, who are tied at 84. Wickens holds the Rookie points lead with 97 over Lacroix (90) second and Philippe (89) third.

Today's race began without incident. Philippe was solidly in the lead before Turn 1, leaving the race to round out the podium a battle between Lacroix and Hegewald. Hegewald finally passed Lacroix on lap 12. Summerton spun on the second lap and dropped to 19th. He finished the race in 12th place. Maxime Soulet (Gelles Racing), who started 23rd, had a fine drive to finish seventh and remain fourth in Overall points. Reed Stevens (HBR Motorsport Team USA) also recorded a top-five finish (fifth) after starting 15th. Tom Sutherland (HBR Motorsport Team USA) and Adrien Herberts (Atlantic Racing Team) had their best results of the season in front of the United States Grand Prix crowd, finishing fourth and seventh respectively. Yesterday's winner James Davison was credited with the fastest lap of the race (1:37.162, L7).

A mellow moment at the podium

As they did in Round 7, Rookie drivers continued to pace the field in Round 8, finishing 1-2-3, with Philippe (P1), Lacroix (P2) and Wickens (P3).

BMW Motorsport Director Dr. Mario Theissen said, "This race has been the highlight of this Formula BMW USA season. Racing on this famous track in front of the Formula One crowd must be a dream come true for these young drivers. Once again, we saw a thrilling race. A few drivers got experience dealing with setbacks and this is an important part of their learning process in becoming a professional race driver."

Richard Philippe: The Winner at indy and a strong force in Formula BMW USA

Philippe said, "I had another excellent start and was into the lead before the first turn. I could see Jonathan and Kevin fighting so I concentrating on putting together some quick laps to make a gap. We've had a few disappointing finishes this year so it is good to have another win."

Lacoix said, "I raced in the top-three all day so I am pleased with my effort. The points battle is becoming tighter so I am glad to still be on top. I will hope for even better results in the next Rounds."

Rounds 9 & 10 of the 2005 Formula BMW USA Series will be held at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on July 29 - 31.

140 mph down the front straight...

Round 8 - Results (13 laps)

1 Richard Philippe (R) (Team Autotecnica) 21:19.739
2 Kevin Lacroix (R) (AIM Autosport) 21:25.354
3 Robert Wickens (R) (Team Apex Racing USA) 21:30.376
4 Tom Sutherland (HBR Motorsport Team USA) 21:31.818
5 Reed Stevens (R) (HBR Motorsport Team USA) 21:33.445
6 Adrien Herberts (R) (Atlantic Racing Team) 21:33.960
7 Maxime Soulet (Gelles Racing) 21:34.753
8 Darin Marcus (R) (Gelles Racing) 21:35.294
9 Justin Moon (R) (Gelles Racing) 21:35.693
10 Jonathan Summerton (Walker Racing) 21:38.687
11 Doug Boyer (R) (Jensen MotorSport) 21:41.223
12 Edoardo Piscopo (R) (EuroInternational) 21:42.698
13 Race Johnson (R) (HBR Motorsport Team USA) 21:43.367
14 Daniel Herrington (Jensen MotorSport) 21:47.637
15 Matthew Lee (R) (Twintooth/BRM Motorsport) 21:48.951
16 Rob Bunker (R) (AIM Autosport) 21:51.617
17 Nathan DePagter (DRE Autosport) 21:57.380
18 Derek Burseth (Burseth Racing) 22:04.025
19 Ryan Campbell (R) (Gelles Racing) 22:12.020
20 Jules Duc (R) (Jensen MotorSport) 22:22.503
21 James Davison (R) (HBR Motorsport Team USA) 12 laps
22 John Zartarian (R) (Jensen MotorSport) 3 laps

Excluded following post-race technical inspection:

Tobias Hegewald (R) Atlantic Racing Team
Robbie Pecorari Walker Racing


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)


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.