Rossi and Juncadella win at Lime Rock
Round 8: Formula BMW Europe driver Daniel Juncadella (Euro Junior Team), of Barcelona, Spain, won Round 8 of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship today at Lime Rock Park. He finished 4.195 seconds ahead of Formula BMW Junior driver Ricardo Favoretto (Eurointernational), of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the 25 lap contest.
This was Favoretto's third consecutive runner-up finish of the season. He will, however, take the winner's 20 points (guest drivers are not eligible for points) and consolidate his hold on second place in the overall standings. Maxime Pelletier (Apex-HBR Racing Team), of Longueuil, Canada, finished third despite feeling ill. This was his third podium appearance of the season. Rookie point leader Gianmarco Raimondo (Autotecnica) finished fourth. Alexander Rossi (Eurointernational) recovered from a spin after contact with Favoretto on lap 18 to round out the top-five finishers and retain the lead in the overall point standings. Rossi set a new race record of 57.798 seconds on lap 20. The top-finishing Rookies in Round 8 were Raimondo (P4), Ostella (P6), Grenier (P7), Ruiz (P9) and Vilarinho (P10).
Juncadella said, "It was a fun race. I was fighting with Rossi from the first lap and it was quite interesting. He overtook me and then was in front of me fighting with Ricardo. I was right behind their battle and luckily they touched each other. Next race I am starting fourth and it will be a big challenge because overtaking is so difficult. This is my first win this year and my last race in the Americas series. I will go back to Europe and hope for more big points." Favoretto said, "I had a good start. Behind me, Daniel and Alexander were going at it. Alexander and I were tight for many laps and I was clean choosing the inside line. It was a race issue like Montreal. I have valuable points finishing second. I look forward to good races, doing my best, as always, and gaining some points."
Round 9: American Alexander Rossi (Eurointernational) was back at the top of the Formula BMW Americas podium in Round 9 to maintain his lead in the overall point standings. He finished 7.081 seconds ahead of his teammate, Formula BMW Junior driver Ricardo Favoretto, in the 25-lap race to score the seventh victory of his Formula BMW career and fourth win of the season.
Today's win ties him with 2007 Formula BMW USA champion Daniel Morad for most series victories. Favoretto's fourth consecutive runner-up finish keeps him second to Rossi in the overall standings. Rookie points leader Gianmarco Raimondo (Autotecnica), of St. Catherines, Canada, returned to the podium for the third time this season after winning the first two Rounds of the season.
Fellow Formula BMW Junior driver Mikael Grenier (Apex-HBR Racing Team) finished fourth. David Ostella (Eurointernational) finished fifth. The top-finishing Rookies were Raimondo (P3), Grenier (P4), Ostella (P5), Vilarinho (P8) and Ruiz (P9).
Rossi said, "I'm very happy with this result. Round 8 was disappointing, but that is how racing goes. I have to thank my team who did an outstanding job preparing my race car. I set the fastest race lap in both Rounds. I made sure I was focused and I pushed and pushed. Turn one is pretty cool – an incredible corner. Big Bend is my favorite part of this track." Favoretto said, "It was a good race. GMo put good pressure on me, but I managed some good laps. I just opened a gap and we stayed like that till the end. I look at overall weekend with good feeling." Raimondo said, "I pushed as hard as I could and scored some points. My whole family is here and it is good for them to get to see me back on the podium."
Rounds 10, 11 and 12 of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship will be held at Road America, in Elkhart, Wis., on August 7 – 10.