Formula BMW Asia - Round 4 - Malaysia

On-form Bamber continues to impress.

Round 4
Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
May 14, 2006

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Fifteen-year-old Kiwi and Formula BMW Asia Rookie Earl
Bamber (Team Meritus) continued to impress today with a convincing win in Round
4 of the series at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit. It was the second
lights-to-flag victory in as many days for Bamber, and the win strengthens his
position at the top of the leaderboard. Second after 10 laps of the 5.54km
circuit was team mate and BMW Junior James Grunwell (THA), followed by a grimly
determined Sam Abay (AUS/Team E-Rain) who crossed the line in a cloud of smoke
after his engine - which he knew was approaching the end of its life - finally
gave out.

Bamber now has a 10 point lead in the championship over Grunwell who moves up
from 4th, and Abay's gutsy performance keeps him very much in the running in
3rd. In the Rookie Cup standings, Bamber also leads Grunwell, with BMW Junior
Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Eurasia Motorsport), 4th in race, 3rd in the points.

At the start, Bamber once again made a blinding getaway off the grid from pole,
but with Grunwell and Abay in hot pursuit. Further down the field, Ricciardo
stole the march on BMW Junior Dominic Storey (NZL/Eurasia Motorsport) into 4th,
while Malaysian hope Aaron Lim (Eurasia Motorsport) was involved in a coming
together with Storey, putting him to the back of the field, and sustaining
damage to the car which effectively spoiled his chances. Lim did, however,
managed to work his way back making up two places to 7th by the flag.

In the closing stages, Indonesian Zahir Ali (Eurasia Motorsport), who had
closed the gap to Storey began piling on the pressure. The unflappable Kiwi
held firm to finish 5th, refusing to be rattled by the hard-charging Ali.

On the final lap, Abay looked assured of the final podium place when smoke
became coming from the car. "It actually started about four laps from the
finish," said an ice cool Abay after the race. "I noticed the engine was a lot
louder and I began losing power but I kept going. On the last lap, it got
really noisy and I saw the oil. Because we were running an engine from last
season, my engineer warned me it would go at some point but we didn't know
exactly when. However, I had absolute confidence the car would keep going to
the end of the race, which it did. It's fine as we'll put a new engine in for
the next race this afternoon."

Grunwell as disappointed to have missed out on the win, having made a mistake
on lap three when he locked his brakes in the charge to Bamber which, he
believes, cost him the race.
Lim, meanwhile, is confident his Eurasia Motorsport team will fix the damage
caused by his incident and is aiming for a crowd-pleasing top three in Round 5.

Background:
Formula BMW is the world's leading entry-level class in Formula racing. In 2006
the series will be held in Germany, the UK, 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 the FIA 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 2006, 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,
Christian Klien and Nico Rosberg.

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 24th to 26th November 2006 the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo
Tormo will host the second Formula BMW World Final. Young racing drivers from
the four regional Formula BMW series will compete against each other. The
winner will get a test drive with the BMW Sauber F1 Team.

Round 4 Results.
POS NO Driver/Nat Entrant Time
1 78 •Earl BAMBER (NZL) Team Meritus 22:15.394
2 68 *•James GRUNWELL (THA) Team Meritus 22:21.221
3 98 Sam ABAY (AUS) Team E-Rain) 22:24.358
4 3 *•Daniel RICCIARDO (AUS) Eurasia Motorsport 22:28.028
5 10 *•Dominic STOREY (NZL) Eurasia Motorsport 22:33.323
6 25 Zahir ALI (INA) Eurasia Motorsport 22:34.111
7 2 *Aaron LIM Say Joon (MAS) Eurasia Motorsport 22:37.386
8 5 Mohammed AL BAHARNA (BRN) Team E-Rain 22:40.597
9 22 •Aditya AKKINENI (IND) Team E-Rain 22:42.140

*Scholarship driver
•Rookie Cup
# Non-Series Registered

Pole Position: Earl Bamber (NZL/Team Meritus)
Fastest Lap: Earl Bamber (NZL/Team Meritus)/02:12.361/Lap 6

Formula BMW Asia Points Standings after Round 4.
1. Earl Bamber (NZL/Team Meritus) 64 points; 2. James Grunwell (THA/Team
Meritus) 54 points; 3. Sam Abay (AUS/Team E-Rain) 52 points; 4. Hamed Al Fardan
(BRN/Team Meritus) 40 points; 5. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Eurasia Motorsport) 36
points; 6. Dominic Storey (NZL/Eurasia Motorsport) 30 points; 7. Zahir Ali
(INA/Eurasia Motorsport) 16 points; 8. Aaron Lim (MAS/Eurasia Motorsport) 14
points; 9. Aditya Akkineni (IND/Team E-Rain) 10 points; 10. Mohammed Al Baharna
(BRN/Team E-Rain) 9 points; 11. Rayomand Banajee (IND/Privateer) 1 point.

Rookie Cup Points Standings after Round 4.
1. Earl Bamber 75 points; 2. James Grunwell 62 points; 3. Daniel Ricciardo 49
points; 4. Dominic Storey 42 points; 5. Aditya Akkineni 32 points.

Statistics:
Winners 2006: Al Fardan (2); Earl Bamber (2)
Pole Positions: Bamber (2); Abay (1); Grunwell (1);
Podiums: Abay (4); Bamber (3); Grunwell (3); Al Fardan (2)
Championship Points: 1. Bamber (64); 2. Grunwell (54); 3. Abay (52)
Rookie Cup Winners: Bamber (3); Grunwell (1)
Rookie Cup Points: 1. Bamber (75); 2. Grunwell (62); 3. Ricciardo (49)