Team Autotecnica Adds Strategic Partners to New Junior Team Program

Formula BMW Championship winning team expands driver development immersion program by offering direct corporate support.

May 4th, 2009- Toronto, ON - Team Autotecnica, a leader in Junior Motorsports for the past six years, is proud to announce the addition of two corporate partners to the Autotecnica Junior Team Program. Freem has signed on to provide custom clothing for the drivers and Autosports Media Group of Canada have joined to provide media training and promotional support.

“Team Autotecnica is very happy to add additional corporate partners to our new Junior Team Program,” states team manager Enrico Diano from the team race shop near Toronto, ON. “Like us, they see the value in helping transition kart racers into formula car racers.”

Freem, a world leader in motorsports safety gear for karts and cars, will provide clothing for the JR Team drivers. All Junior Team drivers will receive a complete identity package to support their karting and training efforts.

“We are very excited about participating in the Autotecnica Junior Team Program,” comments Desiderio (Desi) Sartelli of Freem America. “This is the first program of its kind to truly capture the full race experience for drivers and their parents.”

Autosports Media Group, a North American leader in multi media and mass media development for teams, drivers and manufacturers bring years of experience to the program. They will provide direct training to the drivers on how to build and manage their promotional efforts. Also, each driver will be awarded financial support to get their exposure program underway.
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Formula BMW Americas To Hold Licensing Course For Prospective Drivers

May 4, 2009 - As one of the world’s top driver development programs in open-wheel racing, the Formula BMW Americas series is constantly looking to the future, despite the fact that the current 14-race championship has yet to reach the halfway mark.

So to ensure that all qualified drivers get a chance to prove themselves ready to step from karting into open-wheel racing in 2010, Formula BMW Americas today announced that it would hold a pair of licensing courses during the 2009 season.

The licensing courses, which take place at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah on July 8-10 and August 17-19, will allow entrants to complete driver training that will qualify them to apply for an official FIA International C License. In addition, the licensing courses will also see the Formula BMW Americas series select invitees to its Scholarship Qualifying meeting, which provides up to four Formula BMW Junior scholarships worth up to $80,000 each for participation in the 2010 Formula BMW Americas season.
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Autotecnica returns from VIR with two podium finishes and many more points!

Toronto, April 30, 2009 - Team Autotecnica returned from this past weekend’s Formula BMW races with two 3rd place finishes and many points to boost its standings, as well as its drivers’, in the overall Formula BMW Americas championship.

Despite both Gianmarco Raimondo and Alex Ellis being new to Virginia International Raceway’s full, 3.27 mile, road course around the rolling hills of Alton, VA, they scored valuable points that will help them and the team in their championship battle throughout 2009.

Alex Ellis (17, CAN) and Gianmarco Raimondo (18, CAN) each picked up a 3rd place finish in the Saturday and Sunday races, respectively. The good race results followed two qualifying sessions that left more to be desired by the young Canadians from St. Catharines, Ontario. In the first qualifying session, Ellis spun and got stuck off the track, thus ending the session early with the 7th fastest time while Raimondo pikced up 6th place. In the second qualifying session, Raimondo unfortunately went off track and ended his session early with an 8th place time while Ellis got stuck with 7th again.
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Team Autotecnica Scores Big in Mexico

Gianmarco Raimondo and Alex Ellis
at Puebla, Mexico

Toronto, 1 April 2009 - Team Autotecnica and its Formula BMW Junior drivers Gianmarco Raimondo (18, CAN) and Alex Ellis (17, CAN) have recently returned from Puebla, Mexico having scored the team’s first ever double-podium finish. The young duo from St. Catharines, Ontario raced cleanly to finish 2nd and 3rd, for Raimondo and Ellis, respectively, in Sunday’s race before a crowd of thousands of highly revved-up Mexican fans. The race was held in support of the FIA World Touring Car Championship’s (WTCC) first round of the year.

The team’s opening race weekend of 2009 was off to a good start with Raimondo qualifying himself 3rd and 5th for the Saturday and Sunday races while Ellis would start 5th and 3rd, respectively. The Saturday race unfortunately handed out its share of bad luck to the drivers. Ellis encountered braking issues which forced him to start from the back of the grid, eventually finishing in 9th place. Raimondo had two off-track excursions which eventually cost him an engine as the cooling system gave up and forced him to end his race early. As a result, spirits were a little low on Saturday evening but the Team Autotecnica drivers were keen on recovering by making their own luck the following day. They worked through a detailed debrief with their engineer and set a plan for success in the Sunday race.
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Formula BMW Championship winning team sets out innovative new program to test, train and mentor young talent.

January 19, 2009- Toronto, ON - Team Autotecnica is proud to announce the introduction of a new and unique motorsports program, The Autotecnica Junior Team. Team Autotecnica is a multi-time champion in both the Fran-Am 2000 and Formula BMW Americas racing series. As a leader in Junior Motorsports for the past six years, they have shaped the development of many top drivers.

“Team Autotecnica is very excited about this new program,” states team manager Enrico Diano. “We saw a gap in transitioning kart racers into formula car racers,” continues Diano from the team race shop near Toronto, ON. “Our focus is to close that gap.”

The Autotecnica Junior Team is a comprehensive testing, training and mentoring program targeting kart racers looking to enter an entry-level formula racing series. The program is designed to enhance the transition from karts to cars and prepare drivers for licensing and scholarship courses. It will also allow parents to experience an informative and extended view into car racing. Furthermore this program can be used by existing car drivers looking to refine their skills with a top-level team.

Gianmarco Raimondo returns to Formula BMW Americas with Team Autotecnica

15 January 2009 - Gianmarco Raimondo (18, CAN) has formally confirmed his return to Formula BMW Americas for the 2009 season with Team Autotecnica. Raimondo is the reigning Formula BMW Americas Rookie Champion and as a result will continue into his second Formula BMW season with official BMW support in the form of a BMW Junior Scholarship. Gianmarco or GMO (Geemo) will again battle for the championship and is in a strong position to be the overall winner in 2009.

2008 was a great learning year for the young Canadian from St. Catharines, Ontario. He challenged for the championship from the beginning eventually finishing third overall while collecting two victories, four podiums, and thirteen top-ten results in fifteen races. Gianmarco proceeded to compete with Team Autotecnica in the Formula BMW World Final in Mexico City this past December where he ran very well, moving up to eighth in the final race, until he was plagued by a damaged front wheel assembly that kept him from advancing despite his driving being impeccable.

Gianmarco is excited about starting his 2009 season. He has kept himself in top physical condition thanks to his work with Andrew Yap of Speed Unlimited; a sports-specific training company in St. Catharines, Ontario. Yap transformed Raimondo into a top level athlete during the 2008 year and now continues to work closely with him to maintain that high physical capacity. Raimondo has also being doing his part in working with Team Autotecnica at their shop in Concord, Ontario to learn more about the cars and how their various systems work in order to provide better feedback to his Engineer, Simon Payne.

Gianmarco’s marketing team also continues to work hard to find him the partners necessary to continue his racing career. Team Autotecnica is also continuing discussions with several potential drivers from around the World who will soon fill the team’s other two Formula BMW cars for an assault on the 2009 season.

Maxime Pelletier teams with Autotecnica and Gianmarco Raimondo to challenge for the Formula BMW World Final in Mexico City

Pelletier is no stranger to Autotecnica as he spent a lot of time in one of its Formula BMW cars while testing in preparation for his 2007 racing season. He will approach the weekend with no pressure and a relaxed state of mind as he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Although it will be his first race in an Autotecnica car, he has three years of experience racing in Formula BMW and will put all that to work in pursuit of the grand prize: a Formula 1 test drive in the BMW Sauber F1 car.

The on-track action begins Friday December 5th and continues into the weekend with the final race on Sunday December 7th. You can find more details and stay in touch with results at the following websites:

Everyone at Team Autotecnica would like to wish Gianmarco a Happy 18th Birthday this Friday, November 28.

The team took advantage of Gianmarco's visit to the shop earlier this week to take him out to dinner in downtown Toronto's renowned Terroni restaurant.

Raimondo wins Formula BMW Americas Rookie Championship

November 3, 2008 - Sao Paulo, Brazil – Taking it down to the wire, Gianmarco Raimondo secured the Formula BMW Americas Rookie Championship with a fifth-place finish in the final race of the season. The seventeen-year-old St. Catharines, Ontario native lead the championship from the first race back in May relinquishing the lead just once when his closest rival finished ahead of him in the penultimate round. Gianmarco, a Formula BMW Junior Driver, would go on to run his pace in the final round and bring his No. 50 Autotecnica FB02 across the checkers to also take third overall in the series championship.

Gianmarco is the third Canadian to win top rookie status since the Formula BMW series started in North America five years ago. He follows in the footsteps of James Hinchcliffe and Daniel Morad who won rookie honours in 2004 and 2006 respectively. Morad won the overall title in 2007 following Robert Wickens, another Canadian, who took the title in 2006. All four are graduates of the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship.

The rookie championship brings with it a full Formula BMW Junior Scholarship for 2009. Gianmarco was selected as an FBMW Junior for this year based on his performance in a 2007 shootout against other racers from across North and South America. The Junior Scholarship provides partial funding for the drivers as well as enrollment in an education and coaching program.

"The scholarship certainly helps with costs," noted Gianmarco, "but it is only a fraction of what it takes to race a full season and be competitive. We are encouraged by getting the scholarship for the 2009 season but must now concentrate our efforts on securing funding to ensure we can make a run at the championship. That will start as soon as we return home from Brazil. For now though, we are going to celebrate."

Next up for Gianmarco is the Formula BMW World Final which features an international filed of drivers who compete in Formula BMW series in Europe and Asia. This event takes place in December 5-7, at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez race circuit in Mexico City, Mexico.

Team Autotecnica to campaign for the return of the Canadian Grand Prix at the Brazilian Formula One race

Team Autotecnica ,Toronto, Ontario - For the Brazilian Grand Prix, Team Autotecnica will run a campaign in clear view of the Formula 1 paddock, sending a message to Formula One heads to reconsider the future of the Canadian Grand Prix.

The announcement of Montreal’s Canadian Grand Prix being eliminated from the 2009 Formula One calendar came as a shock to the motorsport world. The official news broke to the media on the morning of October 7, 2008.

Canada maintains an historical motorsport background, specifically with Formula One dating back to 1967 at Mosport Park, where it eventually became home of the Canadian Grand Prix until the end of 1977. The following year, Montreal was elected as the hosting city to the event and has remained so until 2008, attracting millions of racing fans to the event and probably billions worldwide via television over thirty years.

The loss of the Canadian Grand Prix has become the talk of Canadian media, industry, and businesses that use the event as a major marketing and advertising tool. Equally affected are supporting organizations and racing teams based in North America, working to keep young Canadian drivers amongst the world players in a world class sporting arena, headed by Formula One.

Team Autotecnica is a professional racing team that competes mainly in the American continent and that trains, coaches, and cultivates young driver talent in preparation for the top levels of car racing, with Formula One at the peak providing the ultimate goal for Team Autotecnica’s drivers.

Enrico Diano, co-owner and Motorsport Director, comments “The announcement comes as a big shock.” Diano adds, “In supporting the Canadian Grand Prix for the past six years with our junior-level racing programs, we were highly exposed to the various Formula One teams and fans. For our young drivers to be able to race while being watched by current F1 stars is a very rare opportunity and is a big selling point for our team. The FIA’s decision, spurred by a lack of funding on the race promoter’s side will only widen the gap between our young professional drivers and the Formula One industry. This is a relationship that we’d rather keep tight.”

Italiano, co-owner and Business Manager comments, “From a marketing perspective, Canadian companies are very much in tune with marketing their brands, products, and services with a Canadian racing team, more eagerly on an event such as the Canadian Grand Prix, given the enormity of their campaign potentials. TV, radio, print media, demographics, and event attendance are an easy presentation. This announcement only further complicates the involvement of Canadian businesses within our group of partners.”

Both Diano and Italiano have agreed to engineer the campaign and promote awareness of the impact of such a loss. They hope that Formula One organizers, Canadian Grand Prix promoters and Canadian Government officials can come to an agreement in their meetings over the next few weeks to keep the race as a financially viable international event on Canadian soil. Diano comments that, “It would be quite embarassing for Canada to lose hold of such a well known and respected public annual event, especially since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are just around the corner. What message is that going to give the world about our country’s ability to host large-scale sporting events? – Not a good one, that’s for sure!”

Team Autotecnica’s campaign effort will begin during the final Formula One Grand Prix weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil on October 31 – November 2nd. Formula One teams and fans, global businesses, local government officials, and Formula One Management will catch clear sight of their message. Team Autotecnica’s three Formula BMW cars will don a commemorative graphic on their side pods (driven by Canadian Gianmarco Raimondo, Brazilian Ricardo Favoretto, and third driver, yet to be announced) while competing in the final rounds 16 and 17 of the Formula BMW Americas Championship, before heading to Mexico City for the World Finals in December. The team’s engineers and mechanics will be wearing white team shirts portraying the same message. The commemorative team shirts will be based on a “Revive the Canadian GP” theme.

An email address has been created to communicate directly with Team Autotecnica regarding their efforts to help bring back the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix: canadiangplives@gmail.com. Interested supporters, fans and sponsors can keep up with Team Autotecnica’s successes at www.autotecnicagroup.com.

Formula BMW Americas finale in Brazil this weekend

The season started strong for the Formula BMW Junior Driver when he took the win in both races at the season opener in Monterey, California - the first rookie to do so in series history. He would come away from that event leading both the overall and rookie championships. Since then, the St. Catharines, Ontario native experienced a mixed bag of results but has maintained the lead in the rookie championship all season long. In addition to the two victories to open the season, Gianmarco has recorded three more podiums including a second-place finish at the F1 event in Montreal where he also put his No. 50 Team Autotecnica FB02 on pole for the weekend's second race. Going into the final two races this weekend, Gianmarco has a five-point lead and while he hopes to get to the podium, the goal is to finish ahead of his rivals in the rookie championship.

Winning the rookie championship this year would also bring with it a Junior Scholarship for next season. The scholarship, which has a value of (US) $80,000, goes towards the driver's participation in the Formula BMW Americas Championship and includes enrollment in Formula BMW's Education and Coaching Program. The comprehensive program, provided by a team of experts from the field of international motorsport, includes courses in Driving Skills and Tactics, Vehicle Dynamics and Chassis Setup, Fitness Training and Nutrition, Media Training and Public Relations, and Sponsorship and Sports Management.

Gianmarco will be on track this weekend in support of the Formula On Grand Prix event at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Practice and qualifying will take place on Friday (October 31) with races on Saturday (November 1) and Sunday (2nd). Updates and results will be provided as they become available on Gianmarco's web site: www.gianmarcoraimondo.com.

AUTOTECNICA GRADUATE ESTEBAN GUTIERREZ WINS THE 2008 FORMULA BMW EUROPE CHAMPIONSHIP!

Team Autotecnica would like to congratulate its Alumnus Esteban Gutierrez on clinching his overall victory in the Formula BMW Europe Championship this past weekend in Monza, Italy. Gutierrez, from Monterrey, Mexico, drove for Team Autotecnica in the 2007 Formula BMW USA Championship and became the Rookie Champion and finished 2nd overall. Team Manager Enrico Diano comments, "Like I do with all our alumni, I've been following Esteban's endless success in Europe and have kept the rest of the team updated on his progress. We are all very happy that he has won the championship - he deserves every bit of his success. He's a well rounded and precise driver with a strong ability to overcome hardship. It's good to see that all the hard work that he shared with the team in 2007 has been put to proper use. I'd like to wish him and his great family all the best for the future. It looks like we may have to compete against him for the upcoming World Final on his home turf in Mexico. That might prove to be tough, but our current drivers Gianmarco Raimondo and Ricardo Favoretto will definitely be happy to step up to the challenge!"

Munich, 17 September 2008 - This year will see the Formula BMW season end in the Americas, with the “Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez”, situated in the heart of Mexico City (MX), hosting the 2008 Formula BMW World Final from 5th to 7th December. A unique prize awaits the winner of this prestigious event: the opportunity of a test drive in a BMW Sauber F1 Team Formula One racing car.

“We are looking forward to the opportunity of taking the Formula BMW World Final to the Americas,” says BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. “After previous World Finals in Bahrain and Valencia, the young drivers will be able to prove their skills on this classic circuit located in the center of Mexico’s capital city. I am convinced that this populous metropolis will provide the perfect setting for the highlight of our Formula BMW season. After events in Asia and Europe, the time has come to stage the World Final in the Americas. This year numerous noteworthy talents representing many regions of the Americas are contesting the Formula BMW Americas series – which is one of three successful championships in the Formula BMW program – and therefore it is totally fitting that we meet, literally, in the center.

Once again we are offering the winner of the World Final the opportunity of driving our Formula One car. Consequently the contestants have every motivation to perform right through to the very end of their season.”

The Formula BMW World Final has established itself as the traditional finale of the BMW Motorsport year. The BMW Sauber F1 Team will contest Formula One’s final race on 2nd November in Brazil, with the World Touring Car Championship and Formula BMW Pacific staging their final events in Macau (MO) a fortnight later. With the running of the World Final in December – after the majority of championship titles have been decided – Formula BMW contestants have a further opportunity of ending their respective seasons on a high. The inaugural Formula BMW World Final, held in 2005, saw Marco Holzer win through – with the German a year later experiencing Formula One power for the first time at Valencia (ES). Success for Christian Vietoris (DE) in 2006 saw him inscribed on the roll of honour as the second winner. Philipp Eng’s victory last year will shortly see the 18-year-old Austrian rewarded with his dream prize: on 4th December he will venture onto the circuit in Mexico City with the BMW Sauber F1 Team.

However, this much- coveted main prize is not the Formula BMW World Final’s only attraction. The thoughtfully constructed format offers the young drivers more track time than provided by customary Formula BMW race weekends. Beside free practice sessions, the heat format enables the drivers to amass valuable racing experience.

Approximately 60 young drivers aged 15 and upwards are currently contesting the Formula BMW Europe, Formula BMW Pacific and Formula BMW Americas championships, enabling them to successfully take their first steps towards single-seater racing careers.

Ricardo Favoretto Joins with Team Autotecnica to Conclude his Formula BMW Americas Season Positively

25 July 2008, Toronto, Canada - Team Autotecnica welcomes Formula BMW Junior Ricardo Favoretto (19, Sao Paulo, Brazil) to the team for the second half of the Formula BMW Americas racing season. Ricardo will be joining the team’s existing Formula BMW Junior, Gianmarco Raimondo (17, St. Catharines, ON, Canada,) as his permanent team mate. With the addition of Ricardo to its driver roster, Team Autotecnica has strengthened its bids for both the overall and Rookie championships.

Raimondo, a rookie driver, winner of the opening two rounds in California currently is 3rd in the overall points standings and has a firm hold of 1st place in the Rookie standings. Favoretto, in his second year of FBMW, is currently 2nd in the overall points standings. Both drivers are within striking distance of the points leader and will be working together to close the points gap with eight races remaining over three weekends.

Team Autotecnica has just concluded a two day test at their local Shannonville circuit to allow for additional development time for both its drivers while providing some transition time for Favoretto to adapt to his new car. Track conditions were favourable for day one but rain hampered progress on day two yet provided an opportunity to work on the team’s wet setup.

Favoretto commented, “I’m very happy to have found a new seat with Team Autotecnica for the rest of the season. I already feel more comfortable. It took me a day to work out the differences with the car but I think that I can be much more consistent now. I am looking forward to working with Gianmarco because he has been very quick all season and has put pressure on me a few times. Now we are team mates and we can learn from each other.”

Raimondo’s feelings are complementary; ”I’ve learned a lot in my Rookie season and was able to apply it quickly for some great results in the first eight races. It hasn’t been easy to be competitive without a proper team mate but now things have changed and with Ricardo’s data and feedback, we can both expect to be even faster.”

Team Autotecnica’s Manager, Enrico Diano, adds: “We’ve been working to add more drivers to the team for quite some time. Now that we have Ricardo, we will have twice the data and feedback to analyse and consider. This will allow us to make even better decisions on setup, driver technique, and race strategy. Our relationship with Ricardo is not a new one and we’ve always remained as friends since he first tested with us at the end 2006. We were never able to conclude arrangements to have him race with the team until now. We will continue to work hard for both our drivers to have equal opportunities to win the championship.”

Autotecnica will also have guest drivers running in its third car for the remainder of the season with more news on who it will be to follow shortly.

The remaining eight races of the Formula BMW Americas championship will be concluded at Road America (Wisconsin, USA) on August 8-10, Thunderbolt Raceway (New Jersey, USA) on September 27-28, and at Interlagos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) on November 1-2 in conjunction with the final race of the Formula One calendar.

Raimondo scores fourth podium this season
Extends lead in rookie championship

Drivers would take to the newly modified Lime Rock Park circuit on Friday for what was to be practice and a single qualifier for a three race weekend. The series had recently announced the addition of three races on the season with the first to be run this weekend. Unfortunately, the rules at Lime Rock do not allow full race events on Friday so the session was converted to qualifying for the second race. Gianmarco had already qualified the car fifth for the first race on Saturday. He would go out in the second session and put the car on the second row (P3) for race two Saturday afternoon.

Race one would go at 9:00 a.m Saturday. Giamarco, who reports that he was feeling "rested and ready to race", made up a position but could not gain on the leaders, although he was closing on the last podium spot finishing just 2/10ths back of third place. However, he did manage to hold off the series points leader for the fourth spot to gain some points.

Two and a half hours after completing race one, Gianmarco was back on track for race two. From the third starting position he would wage a close battle for second place early in the race. Gmo would hold position to the end, adding another podium result on the year. Once again the top rookie and BMW Junior, he has retained his lead in the rookie championship and sits a solid third place in the overall standings.

Gmo will next head to Putnam Park July 28 for a sanctioned Formula BMW test. The next race takes place at Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 8-10.

Autotecnica has a record-breaking weekend at Laguna Seca with Rookie and BMW Junior driver Gianmarco Raimondo

Gianmarco Raimondo at Laguna Seca
Photo: A.M. Raimondo

With his double race victory in the first two rounds of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas championship, BMW Junior driver and Rookie Gianmarco Raimondo (CAN, 17) has established a new worldwide record for Formula BMW in which a Rookie driver has captured back to back opening race wins.

This achievement adds to Team Autotecnica's list of winning results at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca where in a total of six Formula BMW races conducted at the world-renowned circuit since 2004, Team Autotecnica drivers have collected four wins and three pole positions. The team now moves on to Rounds 3 and 4 to be held for the fifth year in a row in support of the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Two young guest drivers from the Formula BMW Europe championship will join Autotecnica for this event filling its three car team to full potential. Keep up to date with race results and news at www.autotecnicagroup.com and www.formulabmwamericas.com.

Race – Round 2, Laguna Seca Raceway, May 18

17-year old BMW Junior and Rookie driver Gianmarco Raimondo (Autotecnica), of St. Catherines, Ontario, won Round 2 of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas today at Laguna Seca Raceway. Raimondo finished 2.703 seconds ahead of American Alexander Rossi (Eurointernational), 16, in the 17-lap contest to become the first Rookie driver in series history to win the opening two Rounds of the series.

Gianmarco Raimondo
Photo: A.M. Raimondo

Rossi, bouncing back from the disappointment of a blown engine while leading yesterday’s Round 1 race, set a new race record of 1:27.668 minutes around the 2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit on lap 16. Canadian Maxime Pelletier (Apex-HBR Racing Team), 17, drove a very strong race to finish on the third step of the podium after starting eighth. He made the move of the race with a daring inside pass of teammate Alexandre Ruiz to secure third on lap 11. Ruiz finished fourth and Giancarlo Vilarinho (Eurointernational) rounded out the top five. Polesitter Ricardo Favoretto (Eurointernational) was unable to back up his career-best second place finish in Round 1. He went off on the first lap of race and was unable to continue.

The key to Raimondo’s second victory was his ability to get away cleanly from his front row starting spot and lay down very quick times on cold tires on the race’s restarts following today’s two caution periods. The first yellow flag waved for Favoretto’s off on the first lap and the second caution period came on lap six following David Ostella’s (Eurointernational) off course in turn three. Ostella was able to continue following a stop in the pits, finishing ninth, three laps down to the field.

Overall and Rookie points leader Raimondo said, “I was a bit nervous during the caution periods, but I was able to get away from Alexander on the restarts and maintain the gap. My home race (the Canadian Grand Prix) is coming up next and I’m really looking forward to being a part of a Formula One weekend.”
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Race – Round 1, Laguna Seca Raceway, May 17

BMW Junior and Rookie driver Gianmarco Raimondo (Autotecnica), 17, of St. Catherines, Quebec won the opening round of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship, finishing 2.97 seconds ahead of fellow Junior driver Ricardo Favoretto (Eurointernational), 19, of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Gianmarco Raimondo
Photo: A.M. Raimondo

Raimondo led only the final five turns of the 17-lap race around the 2.38-mile Laguna Seca Raceway after a race-long battle with the more experienced Favoretto, but that was all he needed to secure the most important win of his young career. Quebecer and Rookie Mikeal Grenier (Apex-HBR Racing Team) finished third for an all BMW Junior top-three.

The race was only decided on the final lap with front row starter Favoretto inheriting the lead on lap 14 after polesitter and race leader Alexander Rossi (Eurointernational) dropped out with mechanical problems. Favoretto led the pair across the finish line on the penultimate lap as a hard charging Raimondo pushed too hard and went wide in turn four. Two turns later Favoretto slid off the track and Raimondo took the lead and the win. Apex-HBR Racing teammates Maxime Pelletier and Alexandre Ruiz finished fourth and fifth respectively. Seventh place finisher David Ostella (Eurointernational) was credited with the race’s fastest lap (1:28.790 minutes) on lap 14.

“I really didn’t know what to expect today, but I had a pretty good start and kept up with Rossi and Favoretto early,” said a very happy Raimondo. “As the race developed my tires began to come in and I began to get faster. I caught Ricardo (Favoretto), but I knew it would be very hard to get past him. The last lap was very intense and quite a surprise when he went off. Today I learned that passing is much harder than it looks so it takes a really good run or someone has to make a little mistake.”
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Raimondo prepares for first Formula BMW Americas race

"It's great to finally get the season underway" commented Gianmarco, who was awarded a Formula BMW Junior Scholarship earlier this year. "We have put in a lot of track time since January but there is nothing like competition to really get you going. It's very exciting to run my first race at a famous track like Laguna Seca. I am looking forward to competing with Autotecnica and challenging for the rookie and series championships,"

The St. Catharines, Ontario teen was most recently testing at tracks in Utah (Miller Motorsport Park) and northern California (Thunderhill Raceway Park) in preparation for this weekend's race. Gianmarco returned from the west coast to squeeze in a couple of days at school – and to get a change of clothes, then heads back to California on Wednesday (14th) for pre-race activities.

Team Autotecnica manager Enrico Diano also expressed excitement about the beginning of the season. "We are looking forward to being in race mode" he said between test sessions. "We followed a plan with Gianmarco through testing to bring him up to speed with the car and with the team. Communication and trust are important components of any team and especially under racing conditions." Diano continued, " We are very happy where we are with Gianmarco right now and we all hope for a good race at Laguna this weekend."

Gianmarco will be on track Friday (16th) for practice with qualifying and race one taking place on Saturday. More qualifying and race two are on Sunday. The event is part of the Monterey Festival of Speed which also features Formula Atlantic and the headlining Rolex Grand Am Series. Updates will be provided throughout the weekend on Gianmarco's web site www.gianmarcoraimondo.com

Gianmarco Raimondo signs with Team Autotecnica for 2008 Canadian teen to contest Formula BMW Americas series

Gianmarco is a graduate of the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship where he raced with Cameron Motorsports in the premiere InterContinental C (ICC) shifter karts. This class is generally considered the stepping stone to racing cars and at the end of the season, Gianmarco's performance was rewarded with a scholarship on the Sunoco Team Ultra 94. The St. Catharines, Ontario teen would also return to the Formula BMW school in Valencia, Spain to compete in a shootout for a scholarship to run in the 2008 series which would now be called Formula BMW Americas and include a race at the Formula 1 Grand Prix event in Brazil.

Formula BMW Americas announces 2008 Schedule

Woodcliff Lake, NJ. January 17, 2008 - Drivers entering the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship will face the most challenging and diverse schedule in the series’ five year history.

Returning once again as the opening rounds for the Formula BMW Americas Championship, the historic Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California will launch the seven-weekend, 14 round championship in May. After featuring some of the strongest venues in North America, the championship will end in November with a maiden journey to Sao Paolo, Brazil in support of the Brazilian Grand Prix. The drivers participating in this season will have the chance to showcase their skills to the nearly every category of premier racing series in North America with races supporting Formula 1, the American Le Mans Series, the Champ Car World Series, the Rolex Sports Car Series, and, new for 2008, the ARCA RE/MAX Series.
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Team Autotecnica attends the Florida Winter Tour karting races at Homestead, FL.

Toronto, Canada January 17, 2008 - Enrico Diano, Manager of Team Autotecnica, the Formula BMW USA Rookie Champion team, will be attending the Florida Winter Tour kart races on January 18th and 19th to meet and greet with up and coming karting stars who want to make their way into open wheel racing.
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