VIVA ROSSI!
The sheer scale and energy of the world’s third largest city is such that you might think an event like the Formula BMW World Final might not make headlines. How wrong you would be. Mexicans are rabid racing fans and among the most knowledgeable motorsports enthusiasts on the planet.
In addition to their colleagues from around the world, more than 150 Mexican journalists requested media credentials for this year’s World Final.
For the 21 young drivers entered from the Americas, Europe and Pacific series in the 2008 Formula BMW World Final, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez – located in the heart of the city – provided a stage like no other. Formula BMW is BMW’s world-class entry-level open wheel racing series and, as they say, is “the fast track to Formula One.”
BMW means that literally. The prize for a Formula BMW World Final win is a test with the BMW Sauber F1 Team at next year’s event. This year, the young man who earned that test is Californian Alexander Rossi. The 17-year-old drove the race of his young career in the 18-lap final to become the first World Final winner not hailing from Europe.
Following his test, Rossi will be among the very small group of Americans to have ever driven a Formula One machine. Noting this accomplishment, BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen said, “It’s good to see a driver from America emerge as the winner this time.
This proves that Formula BMW Americas is also very strong. I’m sure this result will help to make all three Formula BMW series even stronger.” Rossi summed up his dream come true: “Since I first saw Formula One, I have wanted to drive such a racing car.
Now this dream becomes reality. When I watched last year’s winner, Philipp Eng, driving his test here in Mexico, I envied him a lot. It gave me tremendous motivation to follow in his footsteps. And that’s exactly what I did.”
2008 Formula BMW World Final by the numbers
Number of entrants: 21
Number of countries represented: 14
Circuit: Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
Length: 2.75 miles
Turns: 14
Number of laps: 18
Race time: 30:34.838 minutes
Margin of victory: 0.655 seconds
Winner: Alexander Rossi, United States
Team: Eurointernational
Prize: BMW Sauber F1 Team test
Source: BMW Magazine