Formula BMW UK Championship
The BARC are pleased to confirm that they will continue as the Series Organiser for the Formula BMW UK Championship.
With packed grids of evenly matched cars plus top speeds approaching 150mph, Formula BMW championships had already proved a huge hit with both young drivers and fans in Germany and the Far East, and launched equally successfully in the USA and the UK in 2004. With the higly successful inaugural Formula BMW World Final in Bahrain in December 2005, the internationalisation of Formula BMW continues to grow.
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen explains the worldwide success of Formula BMW, "On the one hand, we are setting benchmarks in the area of safety. Our cars meet all the safety demands applied for the clearly more powerful and faster Formula 3 cars. On the other hand, the Formula BMW drivers are offered far more than just a car: in our training and education programme, the young drivers learn everything they will need to stand their ground in the motor racing world. And this concept has turned out to be the right way. In a very short period of time, Formula BMW has developed to be the top newcomer in single seater racing, worldwide."
The Formula BMW Championship 2006 will be won and lost over ten race weekends with each meeting featuring two Formula BMW races to create a 20-round series. Nine of these double-header fixtures will be held in conjunction with the UK's premier motor sport drawcard, the high profile British Touring Car Championship, with the championship also featuring at the World Touring Championship event at Brands Hatch..
BMW UK offer an unprecedented package of scholarships, driver education and coaching, plus prize money, all aimed at discovering new talent, and providing the young graduates with the right credentials to go the whole way to the top.
The championship is open to those who, as a minimum, will achieve their 16th birthday during the calendar year 2006 and who hold the appropriate form of competition licence. Indeed, a 15-year-old driver made history by winning the first ever Formula BMW UK Championship race in 2004.
The series introduces talented young drivers to all the various demands of professional motor racing. Apart from honing their driving skills, this also entails physical fitness programme's and tuition in other aspects of the sport, such as technology, sponsorship and media work.
BMW UK are also backing five carefully selected Juniors (all aged under 18) with scholarships each worth £35,000. These beneficiaries have been selected at a course run at the Formula BMW Racing Centre in Valencia, Spain.
Every Formula BMW competitor will harbour a dream of making it all the way to Formula One - and that's a dream BMW is well-positioned to fuel through its Grand Prix-winning partnership with the renowned BMW WilliamsF1 Team. As part of their education, racers will be able to participate in a wide variety of exclusive activities in conjunction with BMW Sauber F1 Team including special lectures and a visit to a Formula One test.
To see the 2007 Championship Points table, please click here
Formula BMW UK Championship Contacts :-
Championship Organiser's :
British Automobile Racing Club Ltd.
Thruxton Circuit
Thruxton
Andover
Hampshire
SP11 8PN
Tel 01264 882200
Fax 01264 882233
For membership enquiries contact Angie Kew (direct line 01264 882205)
E-mail : info@barc.net
Championship Co-ordinator :
Adrienne Watson
76 Wappenham Road
Helmdon
Brackley
Northamptonshire
NN13 5QA
Tel 01295 760742
Fax 01295 768742
Mobile 07850 388389
E-mail : FormulaBMWUK@aol.com
Championship Clerk of the Course :
Ian Watson,
British Automobile Racing Club Ltd.
Thruxton Circuit
Thruxton
Andover
Hampshire
SP11 8PN
Tel 01264 882207
Fax 01264 882233
Mobile 07703 270740
E-mail : iwatson@barc.net
BMW (UK) Limited :
Peter Walker,
Motor Sport Manager
BMW UK
Ellesfield Avenue
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 8TA
Tel 01344 480259
Fax 01344 359259
E-mail : peter.walker@bmw.co.uk
For more information : www.bmw-motorsport.com