Sam Bird, 18 year old race car driver from Claygate, Surrey, proved he has the winning formula at Brands Hatch yesterday, after taking his first win in the 2005 Formula BMW UK championship, in the second race of the day.
His maiden victory followed a strong second place finish in the first race earlier today and this duo of strong performances have catapulted him into second place in the overall drivers championship, just four points behind leader, Matt Howson. Bird, a protégé of the recently formed Mark Blundell/Martin Brundle 2MB sports management agency, graduated from the scholarship class of the Formula BMW championship this year after finishing runner-up in the Rookie class in his first year. With eight races completed so far this season Bird, who races for Fortec Motorsport, has notched up three second place finishes, a third and a fourth, and has proved to be a strong title contender.
“A fantastic race for me,” said a delighted Bird as he stepped off the podium. “My first race win and hopefully many more to come. I led from start to finish and I’d like to think that I was in control throughout the whole race. I got a great start, put my head down for the early laps, and it all went smoothly from there on. Wise (the leader) put pressure on me in the last few laps but I held my nerve and won my first ever race. It’s put me only four points behind Howson in the championship with six rounds (twelve races) left, so it’s going to be close.”
Mark Blundell, Bird’s manager, added praise for the young driver, saying, “It’s great to see Sam take his first win this weekend. He’s been working hard and deserves this success. We knew he had the potential to be a race winner and he’s certainly proved that today. We expect there to be more as the season progresses. Well done Sam!” The 2005 Formula BMW championship is organized by the BARC and comprises ten double-header race weekends, nine of which run alongside the flagship British motorsport series, the British Touring Car Championship with one ‘BMW Day’ held at Rockingham.
