Smith is Champion and Hankey wins Rookie Cup.
Dean Smith (Nexa Racing) is the new Formula BMW UK Champion after winning the title as he crossed the finishing line for the final race of the series. Meanwhile Euan Hankey (Barwell Racing) made sure of his Rookie Cup Trophy by winning this in race one.
At the start of the weekend Dean was not the favourite for the title as he was 17 points behind Sam Bird (Fortec Motorsport), but after Sam retired from race one, following a collision with Oliver Turvey (Team SWR Loctite), he was only two points behind. Dean then went on to win race two and with Sam second the title went to the 17-year-old from Wolverhampton. Euan had been in a stronger position as he came to Brands Hatch 29 points ahead of Michael Meadows (Master Motorsport), and second in the Rookie class in race one was enough to give him his title.
Matt Howson (Filsell Motorsport) won the first race of the day with Dean Smith second and Oliver Turvey third, and kept his championship hopes alive until he damaged his front wing in race two and so left the battle to the other two. The third place on the podium in race two went to Niall Breen (Barwell Motorsport) after a storming drive from 11th on the grid.
Dean, who is the only driver to score points in all rounds of the series, commented: "This feels fantastic and I want to thank the team for the amazing job they have done for me. I was lucky to come here without the pressure Sam had and being relaxed helped me. I have to admit the last four laps of the race were difficult as I could feel myself getting tired and felt that Sam could still catch me." Sam was magnanimous in defeat saying: "Congratulations to Dean as he is a worthy champion. In that last race I just didn't have the power down the straight and my car didn't have the legs to catch Dean. I am disappointed and feel that at some points this season I was just unlucky."
Euan was very happy to be able to relax in race two, and after winning the title in race one said: "I had to keep a steady pace in the race and more or less cruise as finishing assured me of the title. I came up behind James Wingfield and held station while watching Dominique Cauvin who was behind me. Luckily I kept there and the title was mine."
Fortec Motorsport has won the Formula BMW UK Team Trophy but this was decided at Silverstone. They only failed to score points in one race and had three one-two finishes during the season - the only other team to have one was Team SWR Loctite.
In race one Matt Howson made the most of being on pole and led the cars from start to finish. Sam slotted in behind him and Oliver Turvey into third. On the first lap Lars Viljoen (Team SWR Loctite) and Joe Osborne (Nexa Racing) went off at Druids and when Duarte Felix da Costa (Carlin Motorsport) joined them on lap two the Safety Car was deployed so the cars could be moved. Once the Safety Car came in at the end of lap seven the racing resumed with Oliver pressuring Sam. This battle was resolved on lap ten when Sam spun off leaving Matt a second and a half ahead of Dean. The next casualty at the front was Simon Walker-Hansell (Carlin Motorsport) who went off from third, so letting Oliver take the final podium place. In the Rookie class it was Jonathan Legris who took the win with Euan in second.
For race two polesitter Nathan Antunes (Motaworld Racing) made a good start and led into the first corner, however, by the time the cars came round for the end of lap one it was Dean Smith who was leading despite a bent front wing. Sam was in third behind Nathan but then on lap two moved into second after the most amazing piece of avoidance when Nathan spun in front of him. The man on the move was Sam's team-mate, Stian Sørlie, who was setting fastest laps and even overtook Sam on lap six. However, this was short lived as he stopped on the side of the track a lap later. Dean was gradually pulling away from Sam and by the time the chequered flag came out for the first time this year he was over seven seconds ahead. In the Rookie class Joe Osborne (Nexa Racing) led from the start, but then went wide on the last lap letting Michael Meadows take the win.
Results - Race - Round 19 - 15 laps.
1 Matt Howson (GBR) (Filsell Motorsport) 25:24.1302 Dean Smith (GBR) (Nexa Racing) 25:24.8383 Oliver Turvey (GBR) (Team SWR Loctite) 25:27.3554 Ross Curnow (GBR) (Promatecme/Soper Sport) 25:30.4055 Jonathan Legris (GBR) (Mark Burdett Motorsport) R 25:34.7076 Chris Holmes (GBR) (Fortec Motorsport) 25:35.6587 Jordan Wise (GBR) (Nexa Racing) 25:36.1528 Niall Breen (IRE) (Barwell Motorsport) 25:38.2529 Michael Meadows (GBR) (Master Motorsport) R 25:38.71410 James Wingfield (GBR) (Motaworld Racing) 25:41.96911 Euan Hankey (GBR) (Barwell Motorsport) R 25:42.42112 Dominique Cauvin (F) (Motaworld Racing) R 25:44.17813 Matt Harris (GBR) (Team SWR Loctite) 25:44.468
Not classifiedSimon Walker-Hansell (GBR) (Carlin Motorsport) 12 lapsNathan Antunes (AUS) (Motaworld Racing) 11 lapsStian Sørlie (GBR) (Fortec Motorsport) 10 lapsSam Bird (GBR) (Fortec Motorsport) 9 lapsDuarte Felix da Costa (GBR) (Carlin Motorsport) 2 lapsJoe Osborne (GBR) (Nexa Racing) R 0 lapsLars Viljoen (GBR) (Team SWR Loctite) 0 laps
Fastest Lap: Dean Smith (Nexa Racing) 1 min 29.323secs, 97.65mph, 157.15kph.
Pole Position: Matt Howson (Filsell Motorsport) 1 min 29.271secs, 97.71mph
Results - Race - Round 20 - 12 laps.
1 Dean Smith (GBR) (Nexa Racing) 18:12.3712 Sam Bird (GBR) (Fortec Motorsport) 18:21.168 3 Niall Breen (IRE) (Barwell Motorsport) 18:25.9704 Ross Curnow (GBR) (Promatecme/Soper Sport) 18:30.9755 Simon Walker-Hansell (GBR) (Carlin Motorsport) 18:30.9766 Jordan Wise (GBR) (Nexa Racing) 18:30.9867 Nathan Antunes (AUS) (Motaworld Racing) 18:32.997 8 Michael Meadows (GBR) (Master Motorsport) R 18:33.7949 Chris Holmes (GBR) (Fortec Motorsport) 18:33.80610 Euan Hankey (GBR) (Barwell Motorsport) R 18:34.00711Joe Osborne (GBR) (Nexa Racing) R 18:34.75712 Jonathan Legris (GBR) (Mark Burdett Motorsport) R 18:34.91113 James Wingfield (GBR) (Motaworld Racing) 18:37.50714 Lars Viljoen (GBR) (Team SWR Loctite) 18:57.96815 Matt Howson (GBR) (Filsell Motorsport) 11 laps16 Oliver Turvey (GBR) (Team SWR Loctite) 11 laps17 Duarte Felix da Costa (GBR) (Carlin Motorsport) 11 laps
Not classifiedDominique Cauvin (F) (Motaworld Racing) R 9 lapsStian Sørlie (GBR) (Fortec Motorsport) 7 lapsMatt Harris (GBR) (Team SWR Loctite) 2 laps
Fastest Lap: Oliver Turvey (Team SWR Loctite) 1 min 29.477secs, 97.48mph, 156.88kph.
Pole Position: Nathan Antunes (Motaworld Racing) 1 min 38.808secs, 88.28mph
Indicates driver eligible for Rookie Cup
Championship Points TablesDrivers1. Smith (3 wins) 221, 2. Bird (6 wins) 218, 3. Howson (4 wins) 189, 4. Sørlie (3 wins) 153, 5. Curnow (1 win) 127, 5. Walker Hansell (1 win) 118, 7. Antunes (1 win) 105, 8. Turvey 103, 9. Wise 79, 10. Felix da Costa 64, 11. Breen 49, 12. Hankey 38, 13. Keen 33, 14. Meadows 32, 15. Harris (1 win) 29, 16. Legris 22, 17. Holmes 9, 18=. Viljoen and Cauvin 6, 20. Osborne 5, 21, Steele 4, 22. Leon 3, 23=. Goldstraw, Macleod, Rees 2, 26. Wingfield 1.
Rookies1. Hankey (6 wins) 258, 2. Meadows (6 wins) 237, 3. Legris (5 win) 224, 4. Osborne (1 win) 177, 5. Cauvin (1 win) 149, 6. Steele (1 win) 133, 7. Hoy 40.
Teams1. Fortec Motorsport 380, 2. Nexa Racing 303, 3. Filsell Motorsport 191, 4. Carlin Motorsport 182, 5. Team SWR Loctite 171, 6. Promatecme/Soper Sport 127, 7. Motaworld Racing 112, 8. Barwell Motorsport 87, 9. Master Motorsport 32, 10. Mark Burdett Motorsport 14, 11. Pegasus Motorsport International 13, 12, Formula Racing Ltd 4.
Key Facts
Winners: Sam Bird 6, Matt Howson 4, Stian Sørlie 3, Dean Smith 3, Nathan Antunes 1, Simon Walker-Hansell 1, Matt Harris 1, Ross Curnow 1.
Pole Positions: Sam Bird 8, Nathan Antunes 3, Matt Howson 3, Dean Smith 2, Stian Sorlie 2, Simon Walker-Hansell 1, Oliver Turvey 1.
Podiums: Sam Bird 11, Matt Howson 10, Dean Smith 10, Stian Sørlie 6, Oliver Turvey 6, Nathan Antunes 4, Ross Curnow 4, Simon Walker-Hansell 3, Niall Breen 2, Richard Keen 1, Jordan Wise 1, Duarte Felix da Costa 1, Matt Harris 1.
Rookie Wins: Euan Hankey 6, Michael Meadows 6, Jonathan Legris 5, Dominique Cauvin 1, Aaron Steele 1, Joe Osborne 1.
Rookie Podiums: Euan Hankey 14, Michael Meadows 12, Jonathan Legris 11, Dominique Cauvin 8, Joe Osborne 8, Aaron Steele 5, Ed Hoy 1.
Background:
Formula BMW is the world's leading entry-level class in Formula racing. In 2005 the series will be held in Germany, Britain, Asia and the USA. Up-and-coming drivers as young as 15-years-old are given the opportunity of entering motor racing with the high-tech, standard FB02 race car.
This racing car has been seen on the grid since 2002 and has set standards particularly on the safety technology front. The single-seater is propelled by a 140 bhp BMW engine up to 230km/h and exceeds by far the safety requirements for its class. BMW Motorsport has developed the FORS Formula Rescue Race Seat especially for Formula BMW. The HANS safety system is also mandatory.
In 2005, Formula BMW will be staged five times as part of the Formula One support programme. All the series offer a multifaceted Education and Coaching Programme as well as sponsorship for promising racing talents. The best-known alumni of this talent hothouse are Formula One drivers Ralf Schumacher and Christian Klien.
BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen: "Formula BMW offers talented young drivers more than just a car. In the Education and Coaching Programme we have designed specially for them, they learn everything they need to know to hold their own in the big wide world of motor racing. Formula BMW has shot out of the blocks to become the top entry-level class for Formula racing worldwide."
From 13th to 16th December 2005 the Bahrain International Circuit will host the first Formula BMW World Final. Young racing drivers from the four regional Formula BMW series will compete against each other. The winner will get a Formula One test drive.
