Formula BMW USA - Miller Motorsports Park - Round 2 - Race

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MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK - ROUND 2 - Race
Gutierrez Takes Round 2 Win From Pole

Esteban Gutierrez (Autotecnica), of Monterrey, Mexico won in his second-ever
Formula BMW USA start taking the Round 2 victory today at Miller Motorsports
Park, in Tooele, Utah.

Starting from the pole the 15-year old Rookie finished 1.420 seconds ahead of
yesterday's Round 1 winner Daniel Morad (Eurointernational) in the 17-lap
contest. Steven Guerrero (HBR Motorsport Team USA) rounded out the podium,
besting his eighth place finish in Round 1.

Both Morad and Guerrero are returning drivers, but the story of the weekend has
been the strength of this year's Rookies with Gutierrez adding the win to his
fourth place finish in Round 1. He also took both poles. Three Rookies finished
in the top-10 today, three finished in the top-five in Round 1.

Alexander Rossi (Hearn Motorsports) finished fourth today, setting the fastest
lap of the race and a new race record (1:30.669) on lap 17. Ricardo Favoretto
(HBR Motorsport Team USA) added a second fifth-place finish.

The race began under hot and sunny skies with Gutierrez taking the lead from
front-row starter Morad. As the duo pulled away from the field Guerrero hounded
third place starter Jeffrey Petriello getting by him after a few laps.
Petriello maintained fourth until he went wide in turn 14 on lap 4 allowing
both Sebastian Saavedra (Eurointernational) and Rossi to get by.

A quick caution on lap 11 for a stalled Julia Landauer (Team KMA) only briefly
slowed the race. Morad got by Gutierrez on the restart, but the young Mexican
executed a carefully calculated pass as the two headed into turn 1 on lap 14 to
regain the lead.

The battle between Rossi and Saavedra continued until the two came together
with Saavedra spinning off the track. He continued to finish 11th, however was
penalized 20 seconds post-race for violation of the 2007 IMSA Code 5.7
(unjustifiable risk) moving him to 16th place.

As drivers farther back in the field fought for position on the last lap
contact resulted in Mike Hill's (Team KMA) FB02 somersaulting. He was taken to
track medical and released.

"Yesterday I made a mistake at the start, but today I did everything right,"
said Gutierrez. "The team helped me understand what I did wrong and I corrected
it. Morad made a very good pass on the restart. I got nervous, but I followed
him closely until I had the right opportunity to get back by him."

A gracious Morad said, "Esteban made a great start so I stayed behind him,
hoping for a yellow and the opportunity to get back by him on a restart. I was
able to do just that, but we may have missed the setup a bit today. Coming into
those last corners I picked up some understeer and Esteban was able to get back
by me. Really, this was his day."

Guerrero said, "My car was understeering a little at the start, but came in as
the tires heated up. The tires cooled before the restart and I got the
understeer back. I thought that maybe I would still have the chance to get by
Esteban and Daniel while they were fighting, but it was not possible."

The top-finishing Rookies were Gutierrez (P1), Favoretto (P5), Petriello (P6),
Eric Morrow (P13) and Timothy Hollowell (P15).

Morad leaves Utah with the Championship point lead, with Gutierrez just four
points behind, but standing at the top of the Rookie points. Rossi holds a
one-point margin over Petriello for third and Favoretto stands fifth.

The Formula BMW USA Championship next races in support of the Canadian Grand
Prix on June 8 - 10 and the United States Grand Prix on June 15 - 17.

Championship points after 2 of 14 races:
1. Daniel Morad (EUROINTERNATIONAL, 85), 2. Esteban Gutierrez (Team
Autotecnica, 81), 3. Alexander Rossi (Hearn Motorsports, 71), 4. Jeffrey
Petriello (Team KMA, 70), 5. Ricardo Favoretto (HBR Motorsport Team USA, 64) 6.
Steven Guerrero (Team HBR Motorsport Team USA, 63), 7. Robert Thorne (Gelles
Racing, 56) 8. Jordan Dick (JD Racing, 48) 9. Sebastian Saavedra
(EUROINTERNATIONAL, 40) 9. Yannick Hofman (EUROINTERNATIONAL, 40) 11. Maxime
Pelletier (Gelles Racing, 32), 12. Lindsey Adams (Team Apex Racing USA, 32) 13.
Felipe Polehtto (Team Autotecnica, 28) 13. Timothy Hollowell (TADD Motorsports,
28) 15. Matt Ferris (Gelles Racing, 26) 16. Phillip Major (Team Autotecnica,
24) 16. Keenan Schmitke (Gelles Racing, 24), 17. Eric Morrow (Hearn
Motorsports, 18) 19. Mike Hill (Team KMA Racing, 18) 20. Julia Landauer (Team
KMA Racing, 4)

Rookies: 1. Esteban Gutierrez (81), 2. Jeffrey Petriello (70), 3. Ricardo
Favoretto (64) 4. Tim Hollowell (28), 5. Eric Morrow (18) 6. Keenan Schmitke
(24)

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.

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