Morad Starts 2007 Season with Round 1 Victory
BMW Junior Daniel Morad (Eurointernational) became the first race winner of the 2007 Formula BMW USA Championship by taking the Round 1 victory today at Miller Motorsports Park, in Tooele, Utah.
It was the second career Formula BMW win for the 2006 Rookie Champion as he bested the 20-car field in the 17-lap race. Starting from the second position, he finished .758 seconds ahead of fellow Junior team member Jeffrey Petriello (Team KMA). Alexander Rossi (Hearn Motorsports) finished third.
Using his experience Morad got a good start and took the lead heading into the first turn. Polesitter Esteban Gutierrez (Autotechnica) followed in second. At the end of the turn 12 he dropped behind both Petriello and Rossi.
He followed Rossi closely and tried a pass on lap nine, but ultimately had to settle for fourth. Ricardo Favoretto (HBR Motorsport Team USA) rounded out the top five.
Morad set the fastest lap of the race and a new lap record (1:30.739) on lap 12.A full-course caution occurred on the next lap for contact between Phillip Major (Autotecnica) and Julia Landauer (Team KMA). The restart on lap 15 allowed Favoretto to make his move over Sebastian Saavedra (Eurointernational) for fifth, placing three BMW Juniors in the top-five.
Morad held a two-car advantage over Petriello as the field began the penultimate lap. Unfortunately a mid-pack crash between Maxime Pelletier (Gelles Racing) and Mike Hill (Team KMA) ultimately collected Matt Ferris (Gelles Racing), Tim Hollowell (TADD Motorsports) and Eric Morrow (Hearn Motorsports). All continued except for Ferris and the race ended under the second caution of the race.
The top-finishing Rookies were Petriello (P2), Gutierrez (P4), Ricardo Favoretto (P5), Hollowell (P14) and Keenan Schmitke (P15).
The Round 2 race is scheduled to start at 11:10 a.m. tomorrow.
"It was not exactly the start I was looking for as I did not get as much wheelspin as I was looking for," said Morad. "This circuit has a lot of traction off the start. Once I was up front I controlled the pace, keeping a marginal lead so as not to cook the tires. We need to use them tomorrow as well. The final yellow was a big relief as I did not have to push any harder."
Petriello said, "The start was very tight as everyone bogged down. You had to be very careful. I was able to get by Esteban at the beginning. It was a lot of work keeping Alexander behind me."
Rossi added, "At the start of the race my goal was to maintain fourth, but when Daniel and Jeffrey got close it allowed me to get past Esteban. Jeffrey drove a great race. I could not get by so focused on keeping Esteban behind me."
Championship points after 1 of 14 races: 1. Daniel Morad (EUROINTERNATIONAL, 45), 2. Jeffrey Petriello (Team KMA Racing, 40), 3. Alexander Rossi (Hearn Motorsports, 37), 4. Esteban Gutierrez (Team Autotecnica, 34), 5. Ricardo Favoretto (HBR Motorsport Team USA, 32), 6.Sebastian Saavedra (EUROINTERNATIONAL, 30), 7. Robert Thorne (Gelles Racing, 28), 8. Steven Guerrero (HBR Motorsport Team USA, 26), 9. Felipe Polehtto (Team Apex Racing USA, 24), 10. Jordan Dick (JD Racing, 22), 11. Yannick Hofman (EUROINTERNATIONAL, 20), 12. Phillip Major (Team Autotecnica, 18), 13. Lindsey Adams (Team Apex Racing USA, 16), 14. Timothy Hollowell (TADD Motorsports, 14), 15. Keenan Scmitke (Gelles Racing, 12), 16. Mike Hill (Team KMA Racing, 10), 18. Maxime Pelletier (Gelles Racing, 8), 19. Matt Ferris (Gelles Racing, 6), 20. Julia Landauer (Team KMA Racing, 2)
Rookies: 1. Jeffrey Petriello (45), 2. Esteban Gutierrez (40), 3. Ricardo Favoretto (37) 4. Timothy Hollowell (34), 5. Keenan Schmitke (32), 6. Eric Morrow (30)
Background:Formula BMW is the world's leading entry-level championship in Formula racing. In 2007 the series will be held in Germany, the UK, Asia and the USA. More than 80 up-and-coming drivers, some as young as 15-years old, will compete worldwide.
Racing four times in support of the Formula One World Championship, Formula BMW offers a worldwide stage, training through a multifaceted Education and Coaching Program and BMW's longstanding Junior scholarship for deserving drivers.
The FB02 race car is propelled by a 140 bhp BMW engine, reaching speeds up to 140 mph. The design exceeds the FIA safety requirements for its class, with the BMW Motorsport developed FORS (Formula Rescue Race Seat), and the mandatory HANS (Head and Neck Support) safety system.
From November 24 to 26, 2006 the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo hosted the second Formula BMW World Final. 37 young racing drivers from the four regional Formula BMW series competed against each other with the winner Christian Vietoris receiving a test drive with the BMW Sauber F1 Team.
