Latest NEWS from the F1 Grand Prix in Singapore

Round 12 Results.
 
Sechelariu takes first-ever win on Singapore street circuit.
 
Marina Bay, Singapore – It was a momentous occasion for Doru Sechelariu (ROM/Meritus) as the fifteen-year-old became the first-ever race winner on the Marina Bay Street Circuit.  
It was Sechelariu’s first-ever Formula BMW victory and the Romanian – who now considers Singapore as his favourite circuit – won in convincing style, leading the entire way from Ollie Millroy (18/GBR/Motaworld) and Ross Jamison (18/HKG/Meritus).   Australian Chris Wootton (19/AUS/Meritus) was the top Formula BMW Junior in fourth.
With Sechelariu and Millroy both guest drivers, and therefore not eligible to score points, series-leader Jamison took the full 20 points, plus the additional point for being on pole.  Jamison had a 22-point lead coming to Singapore, and his result extends that advantage to 43 points over Sean McDonagh (19/USA/E-Rain).
BMW Junior Simon Moss (17/RSA/Mahara) failed to finish after picking up a puncture early on, meaning Wootton closes the gap between the pair in the Rookie Cup to just 10 points.   
Jamison would have dearly loved to have taken his place in the history books, however he has his sights firmly set on the championship: “No racing driver likes getting beaten, but the strategy from the team was ‘try your best, but don’t do  anything stupid,’” said Jamison, who started second on the grid before being passed by Millroy with seven laps to go.
Sechelariu, whose season’s best had been fourth in Formula BMW Europe, was thrilled with his win.
“It’s great,” he said. “Before this weekend, I came here and thought I could be third or second, but not really win the race. On the first lap I had some nerves, but after I saw the gap, I started to become calm and didn’t push over 100 per cent.”
Off the start, Sechelariu got away well, followed by Jamison and Millroy.  The drama began early on when Gabby Chaves (15/COL/Atlantic Racing Team) spun at Turn 1, allowing Wootton to move up to fourth. Chaves ended the race in eighth.
McDonagh, meanwhile, clipped the curb, spun and was out of the race in the first lap, a huge disappointment for the championship contender.
Moss puncture and resulting off brought out the Safety Car on the opening lap.  At the restart, Millroy made his move on Jamison, getting by and holding on to second until the flag.
In the closing laps of the race, the Team Holzer PFX pair of Melvin Moh (20) and Dominic Ang (18) were dicing for position, and the Malaysians ended taking each other out.
Chaves meanwhile, who was working his way back up through the field, had a look at getting by BMW Junior Marlon Stöckinger (17/PHI/Eurasia Motorsport).  Stöckinger, who has been suffering from dehydration following a stomach problem, defended his line but spun off into the unforgiving barriers.
Ryuichi Nara (20/JPN/E-Rain) finished fifth, seven-tenths of a second behind Wootton, and guest driver Rio Haryanto (15/IDN/Pacific Racing) finished sixth on his Formula BMW Pacific debut.Rookie Aditya Patel (20/IND/Eurasia Motorsport) put in a stellar performance to work his way up from the back of the grid and finish seventh. Having closed the gap in the Rookie Cup standings, Wootton is looking forward to the next race tomorrow (Sunday), where he  believes he can gain further ground: “I love my chances because he’s a bit further back and I start in fourth position,” Wotton said. “So long as I make it around the first corner and get a good start, I think I can have a strong race.”
For Millroy, who after joining Formula BMW Pacific for the final five rounds of the season, Saturday’s race was his first podium this season.“We wanted to end the year on a high,” said Millroy, who completed a season in Formula BMW Europe. “I came here with a fresh head.”Sechelariu is on pole for Round 13 of Formula BMW Pacific, with Millroy starting alongside.

*Scholarship driver
•Rookie Cup
#Non-Series Registered
Pole Position: Doru SECHELARIU/Meritus/2:21.843
Fastest Lap: Ross Jamison/Meritus/2:21.842
 
 Championship Points Tables after Round 12.
 
Drivers
1.Ross Jamison (HKG/Meritus) 171 points; 2. Sean McDonagh (KOR/Team E-Rain) 128 points; 3. Simon Moss (RSA/Mahara) 90 points; 4. Ryuichi Nara (JPN/Team E-Rain) 83 points; 5. Melvin Moh (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 82 points; 6. Chris Wootton (AUS/Meritus) 80 points; 7. Gabriel Chaves (COL/Atlantic Racing Team) 70 points; 8. Marlon Stöckinger (PHI/Eurasia Motorsport) 61 points; 9. Imran Shaharom (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 51 points; 10. Aditya Patel (IND/Eurasia Motorsport) 49 points; 11. Arvin Roslan (MAS/Meritus) 40 points; 12. Dominic Ang (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 38 points; 13. Tasmin Pepper (RSA/Meritus) 22 points; 14. Huzair Harun Rasip (MAS/Mahara) 7 points; 15. Omer Younas (PAK/Team E-Rain) 1 point.
 
Rookie Cup
1.Moss; 2. Wootton; 3. Stöckinger; 4. Patel; 5.Roslan; 6. Ang; 7. Younas.
 
Teams
1.Meritus, 311 points; 2. Team E-Rain, 205 points; 3. Team Holzer PFX, 170 points; 4. Eurasia Motorsport, 110 points; 5. Mahara, 95 points; 6. Atlantic Racing Team, 70 points
 
Statistics:
Winners 2008:  Jamison (4); Moss (2); Nara (2); McDonagh (2); Moh (1); Sechelariu (1)
Pole Positions: Moss (2); McDonagh (6); Nara (1); Moh (1); Jamison (1); Sechelariu (2)
Podiums: Jamison (9); Moss (4); Patel (1); McDonagh (6); Moh (4); Chaves (1); Nara (3); Manzur (1); Stöckinger (1); Wootton (4); Sechelariu (1); Millroy (1)
Rookie Cup Winners:  Moss (5); Stöckinger (3); Roslan (1); Wootton (3)

Background:
Formula BMW is the world’s leading entry-level series in formula racing. In 2008 the three Formula BMW series – Formula BMW Europe, Formula BMW Pacific and Formula BMW Americas – will be held in the key motor sport markets of Europe, pan-Asia and North and South America. The end of the year will see the Formula BMW World Final staged for the fourth time, this time at Mexico City’s “Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez” from the 5th to the 7th December. The winner will be granted the opportunity of a test drive with the BMW Sauber F1 Team. 
Formula BMW will be held on the undercard of Formula One on 12 occasions. The series gives young racing talents the chance to enter professional motor sport in a safe racing car – the Formula BMW FB02.
The FB02 has been in use since season 2002. It is powered by a 140 hp BMW engine that takes it to a top speed of up to 230 km/h. It ranks among the safest vehicles in its category and exceeds the FIA safety regulations that govern this class of car. Innovations such as the FORS (Formula Rescue Seat) were developed by BMW Motorsport specifically for Formula BMW. Following Formula One, Formula BMW was the first single-seater series outside the US in which the HANS system was made mandatory.
Formula BMW drivers have the opportunity to take part in an Education and Coaching Programme that runs parallel with the racing season. The programme includes driver coaching at the races by professional race drivers, attending a Formula One test, fitness courses, tuition in driving technique and strategy, as well as seminars on sponsoring and sport management.
Among the 20 team drivers in this season’s Formula One, there are now four Formula BMW graduates: Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil, Sebastian Vettel and Timo Glock. The test and reserve drivers add three more to the tally, namely Christian Klien, Sebastien Buemi and Nicolas Hülkenberg.
In the words of BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen: “With our worldwide Formula BMW concept, we offer drivers and teams a platform which, in this format, is unprecedented in a junior series and which allows them to benefit from our Formula One involvement. Through Formula BMW the drivers are equipped with the tools they need to assert themselves successfully in the world of professional motor racing.”
Note to editors: 
Information and copyright free Formula BMW images for press purposes will be available at the BMW Motorsport Press Club at www.press.bmw-motorsport.com (no registration is required).
 

Tags: Grand Prix F1, Street Circuit, BMW Europe, Eurasia Motorsport