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Raimondo prepares for first Formula BMW Americas raceSeason opening event at Laguna Seca Raceway in California this weekend
"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 ScheduleWoodcliff 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. 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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Formula BMW Pre-Season
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