Gerardo Bonilla, of Orlando, Fla., has reached anagreement with Jensen Motorsport, Inc., to race in this weekend’s inaugural FormulaBMW USA races at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. Bonilla, fifth in points with twopoles and three podium finishes in the 2004 Skip Barber National ChampionshipPresented by RACER, will drive the FB2 Formula BMW in the first two rounds of thenewly created USA division of Formula BMW racing.

Already an established racing formula in Europe, Formula BMW is one of the provinggrounds for up and coming race drivers looking toward careers in Formula 1, Champ Carand the Indy Racing League.''It’s incredible," said Bonilla. ''Only a week ago there were no plans for me to attend theFormula BMW opener. Then a friend with connections asked me last weekend if I stillwanted to do the Lime Rock race. Before I knew what happened, I was in.''Bonilla is supported by a close-knit group of personal investors. He credits their effortsfor keeping his career on track. ''Corporate sponsorship is virtually non-existent in thejunior formulas, so it takes some very special friends to keep racing at this level. They’llbe rewarded as I move up the ladder,” Bonilla says.

Other former or current Skip Barber National drivers racing this weekend in FBMW --and expected to run up front with Bonilla -- include Matt Jaskol, Brian Frisselle and BillyJohnson. Alan Sciuto, a Stars of Karting standout, is Bonilla's teammate this weekendand is also Skip Barber-trained.