Sebastian Vettel made his F1 debut for BMW Sauber at the 2007 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. Vettel finished eighth in that race, 0.4 seconds behind Mark Webber. - Photo Credit: BMW AG

BMW have congratulated Sebastian Vettel on becoming the youngest ever Formula 1 double world champion.

Vettel, who took the 2011 title at the Japanese Grand Prix today by finishing third behind Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, is still the most successful driver in the history of the Formula BMW championship, and began his F1 career with BMW Sauber in 2007.

The German took the 2004 BMW championship with 18 victories in 20 races, claiming 14 pole positions and setting 13 fastest laps. In 2006 he was named test and reserve driver for the BMW Sauber F1 team and went on to become the youngest driver ever to score a world championship point during his first race outing at Indianapolis in 2007.

Vettel still retains a link with Formula BMW and shortly after picking up his first F1 title at the end of last season, he visited the scholarship course for the 2011 Formula BMW Talent Cup in Cartagena, Spain, and offered some useful tips for the participants.

“Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel on the successful defence of his Formula One World Championship title,” said Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director. “This is just one more highlight in an extraordinary career, which began in Formula BMW. His career is the best possible evidence of the success of the Formula BMW concept. The blonde boy from back then is now a two-time world champion – a role model for any junior drivers following in his footsteps in the Formula BMW Talent Cup.

“Sebastian has shown that, with a mixture of talent and the right support, it is possible to reach the very top of the sport. We hope he continues to be successful for a long time.”

The ATS Formula 3 Cup is Germany’s national Formula 3 series, and will offer the winner of BMW’s new junior driver programme the opportunity to move up the single-seater racing ladder.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen says: “The ATS Formula 3 Cup is an ideal next stop for the winner of the Formula BMW Talent Cup. This series demands all the skills we will give competitors in the Talent Cup. We are looking forward to working with the Formel-3-Vereinigung (organisers of the ATS Formula 3 Cup), which has been doing a very good job of promoting juniors for years.”

Detlef Kramp, Chairman of Formel-3-Vereinigung, says: “We will welcome the winner of the Formula BMW Talent Cup to the ATS Formula 3 Cup with open arms and follow his or her progress. We are already excited to see how the winner will do in our championship.

“Sebastian Vettel’s victory in the Formula One World Championship has proven that BMW’s promotion of junior drivers bears fruits. Former Formula BMW drivers are regulars in many series. We will watch the competitors in the Formula BMW Talent Cup very closely over the course of the season.”

Vettel raced in Formula BMW ADAC in 2003 and 2004, winning the title in 2004, before going on to make his F1 debut for the German marque’s F1 team in 2007.

The 23-year-old was on hand to offer advice to the young drivers, as well as taking to the track himself in the FB02 car.

“For many drivers taking part in the series, Formula BMW is the first step from karting into formula racing,” he said. “The FB02 is a real racing car and also has everything a driver needs to get to grips with in more advanced racing series. I was Rookie Champion in 2003, and in 2004 took 18 out of 20 wins to finish as overall winner. That will always remain very special to me. Back then we would put a smiley sticker on the car for every win. By the end of the year the nose was almost completely covered in them.”

“I have a lot of great memories from those days and I made many friends who I’m still close to today. I was in Cartagena as an ambassador for Formula BMW. It was great fun getting back into my old car and clocking up a few laps without any pressure.

“The main thing is to enjoy what you are doing. Only then can you give that extra one or two percent that makes all the difference. That’s my message to the girls and guys who are hitting the gas in the 2011 Talent Cup.”

The Formula BMW Talent Cup has been introduced for 2011 to replace the existing Formula BMW series in Europe and Asia. The scholarship qualifying allowed 17 young drivers to make their first steps into single-seaters. Instructors gave the drivers theoretical background before they went out onto the circuit for the first time. Sessions behind a leading car, practice starts and a free practice session allowed the juniors to familiarise themselves with the FB02 before completing decisive laps. Based on what they have seen them do, the jury selected the participants who have qualified for a place in the 2011 Talent Cup.

15-year old Stefan Wackerbauer from Germany impressed the instructors most in Cartagena, and will take part in the 2011 Formula BMW Talent Cup free of charge. The price for the season to all the remaining candidates who qualified is 100.000 Euro.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen said: “Congratulations to Stefan Wackerbauer for winning the 2011 Formula BMW Talent Cup scholarship. Stefan performed very well and proved his talent during the three days in Menteblanco and also here in Cartagena. He and the other competitors will gain a lot of experience in the 2011 season. The focus in our new driver development programme is on the individual progress of the young guns. That’s why it will be interesting to watch the learning curves of the drivers.

“Thank you to Sebastian Vettel for taking time to visit the Formula BMW Talent Cup shortly after winning the Formula One title. Being a 2004 Formula BMW Champion, he was able to give the competitors some good advice. We also saw that he still feels perfectly at home at the wheel of the FB02 car.”

The Racing Steps Foundation backed driver was honoured to receive the award, wanting to thank his home fan base for all of their support: “It is always an honour to receive an award like this,” he said. “Not only because it means that people have seen the preparation and season-long hard work to achieve the results we did this year. It’s also a massive boost to have the support from my home county.

“I started my career in Lincolnshire at the local kart tracks and coming home after each race weekend is always special, so it’s good to know that there are plenty of people supporting me here,” he added.

The award comes during a busy testing period for Jack. The 17 year old has been testing every week in anticipation for his participation in the 2011 British Formula Three Championship. This was due to involve him travelling to the far east to make his Formula Three category debut in the Korean series, but with this cancelled, he has focused on testing in the UK.

“Testing has been going really well so far,” he said. “We’ve been focussing on different things and I’ve been to tracks I’ve never seen before in the UK. It seems strange to not have driven at places like Oulton Park and Donington Park. But, the first two years of my car racing career has been in Europe and I’m learning and enjoying completely new tracks at the minute. We’ve been quick in testing and I’m getting more and more used to the car. The speed, power and grip is a big step forward and I can’t wait to get to the first round in April next year,”

Jack will be heading to another awards ceremony this weekend by making a guest appearance to the WTP (World Technical Products) awards ceremony. The event will see him go back to his roots, as it was the first championship he won back in 2003.

“I’m honoured to have been asked to go to the WTP awards this year,” he commented. “It will be great to see some of the people that were there when I won the title seven years ago. To be able to talk to the young drivers coming up through the series and aiming to be where I am and about my experiences so far will be fantastic. I always keep an eye on what is happening in karting and the guys that are making their mark and I’m really pleased to have been asked to attend.”

Nakayama, making his Formula BMW debut, took pole position in the qualifying session. Starting alongside him on the front row of the grid was Oscar Tunjo, the only driver that could stop Bradley from taking the title. Indonesian Dustin Sofyan started third, ahead of Bradley in fourth.

Nakayama got a good start to keep his lead, while Bradley moved up from fourth into second. Tunjo dropped to third, ahead of Calvin Wong, who passed Sofyan for fourth. Wong continually pressured Tunjo, before getting past on lap eight. The Malaysian then began to chase Bradley. The pair made contact on the final lap, but Bradley held onto second.

Bradley inherited the victory when Nakayama was excluded, with Wong second and Tunjo third. The result put Singpore-based driver Bradley out of reach for Tunjo in both the Drivers Classification and Rookie Cup. Afiq Ikhwan finished fourth, ahead of Sofyan. Kotaro Sakurai had finished between Ikhwan and Sofyan on track, but was also excluded for a technical infringement.

After the race, Bradley said: “As with every race, I went into this one thinking I could win. I had some mistakes in qualifying, but I think we got 75 per cent of them fixed. I knew I was quick at the start and managed to get to second. Towards the end of the race, I dropped off a bit. I do think I had good chance to win.  I’m thrilled to have won the championship and now for the last two races there’s no pressure and I can finally have a race with some of the guest drivers without worrying about the consequences. I think one of the reasons why I’ve been so consistent this year is because of age and maturity. I’m 19-year old and I can calculate these things better. It’s been a great year, I’ve really gelled with the team and it’s been a great learning process.”

By becoming the final Formula BMW Pacific champion, Bradley follows in the footsteps of drivers such as GP3 Series driver Rio Haryanto, British F3′s Jazeman Jaafar and former A1 Grand Prix driver Earl Bamber.

The 19-year-old said: “My usual pre-race preparations have gone well and I’m feeling great going into this weekend. My primary aim is to win the championship before Macau. I would love to be able to race there without having to worry about the championship.”

14-year-old Colombian Oscar Tunjo is the only man that can stop Bradley from taking the title. The Meritus driver scored his maiden victory in Singapore, but lies 55 points behind Bradley. “I have been working very hard with the team during this season, we are aiming for good results in Japan. It will be a new circuit for me but I’m looking forward for it and to give my 100 percent during this weekend,” he said.

Two other drivers to look out for near the front will be Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz Jr. The two 16-year-old Red Bull-backed drivers will once again be racing as guest drivers for Eurointernational. Three other guest drivers will making their Formula BMW Pacific debuts: Japanese duo Ryo Hirakawa and Yuichi Nakayama will drive for Asia Racing Team, while 16-year-old Swiss driver Jimmy Antunes will take part for Atlantic Racing Team.

A stewards’ investigation after Round 11 led to guest driver Daniil Kvyat losing his victory in that race for causing a collision with Richard Bradley as they fought for the lead. Local driver Bradley inherited the win, with Kvyat also losing his pole position for Round 12 as he was penalised five grid positions. Bradley himself also received a grid penalty for ‘crowding’ during the race.

Meritus driver Tunjo got away cleanly in Round 12 after inheriting pole position, before being passed by Mofaz Racing’s Wong for the lead. Kvyat passed Bradley and Kotaro Sakurai to move into third, but retired later with an overheated engine. The Russian’s Eurointernational teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. moved up into third position and began pressing Tunjo, the Colombian eventually finishing the race just one-tenth of a second ahead of the Spaniard.

Tunjo was then declared the winner of the race after Wong was handed a 30 second penalty for jumping a chicane. Bradley finished in third, giving him a 55 point lead in the standings, with Tunjo now in second.

Tunjo said: “It was difficult to defend. Carlos and Richard were very close and I had to defend my line. He was faster than I was so it was hard. I came into the race not really worrying about Richard, but trying to get the maximum and win the race.”

Sainz Jr. said: “I didn’t have a very good qualifying, I messed it up and paid for it in both races. Today was a difficult race. I had a good start, but was pushed into the wall and lost some positions.  I was in P9 but then lap by lap, I got up there. We were in third and I was trying to  overtake Oscar… In the end, I’m happy because it was the maximum I could do.”

Bradley added: “Today I was racing solely for the championship. I knew I needed to beat Oscar to clinch it, but I wanted to be conservative and not mess anything up. I just kept thinking about the championship.”

Kvyat held onto the lead at the start, but ran wide at Turn 7 and dropping back to third behind front-row starter Bradley and Calvin Wong, who had started fifth. Kvyat quickly found a way past Wong before chasing down Bradley. On the final lap, the pair made contact. Kvyat moved inside of Bradley to take the lead and the victory.

Wong finished third, ahead of an intense battle for fourth between the Meritus pairing of Afiq Ikhwan and Oscar Tunjo as well as Nabil Jeffri. Ikhwan came out on top, with Tunjo finishing fifth as Jeffri dropped back to finish eighth. Carlos Sainz Jr. finished sixth, ahead of Britain’s James Birch. Australian Jordan Oon fought his way up from 22^nd on the grid after crashing in qualifying to finish in ninth place.

As guest driver Kvyat is ineligible for championship points, series leader Bradley picks up maximum points for Round 11, extending his lead in the standings over Oon to 57 points. Bradley can secure the title in Round 12 at Singapore if he can outscore Oon by seven points.

Kvyat said: “After the start, I missed one of the corners and went right and lost two places, but I was fast enough to catch back up to Richard and then overtake him.  Yes, I did plan when I wanted to overtake him. I was waiting for the last lap to overtake Richard because I knew there would be lots of pressure. It was definitely a battle. We also touched twice. We touched on the straight and then on the next corner I went inside, he closed and we touched, but I was on the inside so I got ahead.”

Bradley said: “For the championship, second is great.  When I got past Daniil, I kept telling myself ‘championship, championship’, that was ultimately my goal and I did want to keep it conservative. He did catch up to me and I decided to give it a go and managed to pull a gap, but he caught up again.”

Eurasia Motorsport driver Bradley, who leads the series standings, will start alongside Kvyat for both races, with the grid for the second race determined by the drivers’ second fastest times. Kvyat, who has been racing in the Formula BMW Europe series in 2010, is only a guest driver in the Pacific series and so cannot score championship points.

Bradley’s Eurasia teammate Kotaro Sakurai will start from third for Round 11, ahead of Colombian Oscar Tunjo of the Meritus team and Malaysian Calvin Wong of Mofaz Racing. For Round 12, Tunjo will start third, with Wong fourth and Sakurai fifth.

Kvyat went to the top of the timesheets mid-way through the 25 minute session. Times began to tumble in the final minutes, with Bradley grabbing provisional pole. Kvyat wasn’t to be outdone though and retook pole after the checkered flag.

Carlos Sainz Jr, another Red Bull driver, will start the two races in seventh and eighth, with Nabil Jeffri, who recently tested for Lotus Racing, qualifying in eighth and sixth positions.

Kvyat said: “I put together all the sectors on the last lap. It was my last chance and I was able to push to the max. To be seven-tenths of a second quicker, I don’t know if I can say it’s a perfect lap, but I did push really hard, especially on the second and third sectors. I’m on good form. In Monza I had a podium there as well. The second part of my season has been good. I have been progressing and I know how to give my max.”

Harvey began the race on pole, his eighth of the season, but an average start saw Luciano Bacheta get the better of him as they headed towards the first chicane, but Harvey got back past at the corner, before quickly setting about pulling away at the front.

It proved to be an action packed final race, with Harvey’s Fortec team mate Christof von Grünigen the first in the wars, going into an early retirement after hitting the barriers on the first lap. Battles soon emerged throughout the order, with Carlos Sainz Jr making an early move through the field, gaining three positions on the opening lap to get into eighth. Ahead, George Katsinis and Marc Coleselli were battling hard until contact between the two on lap five saw both sustain damage. Katsinis’ race was over, while Coleselli was able to limp back to the pits.

At the front, Harvey was pulling away, with the group behind of Daniil Kvyat, Bacheta, Sainz and Frijns separated by just under a second. Running so closely, it seemed like just a matter of time before there was contact within the group, with it happening on lap nine. A clash of wheels between Bacheta and Sainz unsettled the pair, with Frijns forced to go over the gravel in avoidance. This allowed Kvyat to build a gap in second, with Bacheta recovering to remain in third, ahead of Frijns. As the race headed towards its conclusion, Frijns moved past Bacheta for third on the penultimate lap.

At the front, Harvey was streaking into the distance and crossed the line for the win, in the process recording his thirteenth podium finish in the sixteen round season. Rookie driver Kvyat came home in a superb second place, his first ever podium in the series. Frijns completed the podium, with Bacheta, Hannes van Asseldonk and Sainz completing the top six.

Frijns third place was enough to see him crowned the 2010 Formula BMW Europe Champion, the last ever champion of the series, following on previous champions, Mexican Esteban Gutiérrez and Brazilian Felipe Nasr. Harvey ended up just 11 points back in second, despite winning seven races in his debut car racing season, the most of any driver. Frijns’ team, Josef Kauffman Racing, also picked up the teams trophy ahead of Harvey’s Fortec Motorsport.

The action began on the formation lap, with a mechanical problem for Dustin Sofyan leaving oil dropped all over the start/finish line and towards the first corner. Harvey began on pole, but struggled to get away with oil on his grid spot, allowing his team mate George Katsinis to snatch the lead as they headed into the first chicane. Harvey slotted in to second, followed by Javier Tarancon and Carlos Sainz Jr, but further back, contact between Luciano Bacheta and Danil Kvyat saw them both retire, while Eifelland Racing’s Facu Regalia was another driver forced into retirement on the opening lap.

The race’s decisive moment was to take place on lap two though. As they headed into the Parabolica, Tarancon was putting Fortec Motorsport’s Harvey in second under immense pressure and desperate for the place, made a late lunge as they got to the corner. With the space not there, contact was inevitable, sending Harvey spinning off the track and into the gravel, a damaged rear wheel causing instant retirement.

At the front, Katsinis held onto the lead, but lost that on lap four, dropping to fourth. Eiffeland Racing’s Côme Ledogar replaced him out front, closely followed by Frijns, who had worked his way up from eighth on the grid, with Tarancon recovering to third.

Frijns was soon pressuring Ledogar at the front and after following him closely for a couple of laps, he made his move on lap seven to take the lead. Ledogar fought back and retook the place soon after, but Frijns continued to pressure him hard. He made another move at the first chicane on lap 12 and this time made it stick, quickly pulling a gap out at front. As the race reached its conclusion, there was more contact between Katsinis and Michael Lewis on the final lap, forcing the former into retirement.

Frijns came home to take the win, his sixth of the season. Ledogar finished second, with Hannes van Asseldonk third, his second podium of the season. Timmy Hansen finished fourth, with Lewis recovering from his final lap contact to follow in fifth, with Sainz Jnr rounding out the top six.

Fortec Motorsport driver Harvey, who is backed by the Racing Steps Foundation, holds a seven-point lead over title rival Robin Frijns going into the final race weekend of the season at the Italian circuit, with a maximum of 62 points available. He has led the series since the opening round, and did hold an advantage of over 20 points. However, Dutchman Frijns took a win and a second place at the last round in Belgium, while Harvey had a disappointing weekend taking just one podium finish.

Harvey is aiming to take a double race win in Monza, just as he did in Valencia earlier in the year. “I’m going over to Monza with the aim to win both races, it’s really the best option for me to seal the championship,” says Jack. “We need to go out and do the same things we’ve been doing all season long and make a return to the top step of the podium,” he adds.

Harvey and Frijns have dominated the 2010 season, with the second race in Belgium being only the second race out of 14 this year that Harvey has failed to finish on the podium. “It was definitely a tough weekend in Belgium,” he admits. “Although, it could have been a lot worse. I scored another podium result and a fourth place. I could have failed to finish both races and scored no points at all.

“As it stands, the worst I can finish now is second in the championship, but I’m definitely not going out to Monza to drive a percentage game, I’m going out to win both races. I need to finish ahead of Robin all weekend.”

The 17-year-old finished second in the weekend’s first race, having started third in the Racing Steps Foundation liveried car Harvey moved up to second behind his main championship rival Robin Frijns from the start, the Briton having to defend his position from first Daniil Kyvat then Carlos Sainz Jr allowing Frijns to build up a three second lead after only four laps as the he battling Harvey led a train of eleven cars, the gaps between the chasing cars all less than a second.

Rookie Sainz’s podium chance came to an end on lap ten when Harvey’s Greek teammate George Katsinis got past into third – though Sainz held on to fourth for his eighth rookie class win of the year.

Relieved of the pressure Harvey was able to halve the deficit to Frijns, but was still 1.4 seconds behind by the end of the race.

“It was a pretty good race,” Harvey said. “I had another good start and was able to put pressure on Robin so he had to defend in the first corner, but I couldn’t really try on the outside because there was a queue of people behind me. Again Robin was really fast in the opening laps so I couldn’t keep up his pace. By the end I managed to reel him in, and the oil [dropped from Timmy Hansen’s car in the closing laps] helped a bit but I was just not fast enough.”

Race two was a more straight forward affair, Harvey leading from pole position into the first corner and while he had to defend through the opening corners he was able to pull away as, table turned, his rivals were the ones delayed by a battle for second.

His eventual winning margin just over four seconds as Harvey maintained a 23 point lead at in the championship standings.

“I got a great start in the second race but had to cover my line through the first corner as the guy alongside put his nose up the inside,” Harvey described. “I had to push really hard throughout the entire race. It meant I was able to get a good lead on the rest of the field as they were battling behind me I still needed to concentrate as it’s a tough circuit and I wanted to take win number six!”

Like Formula One the BMW Europe teams now have a four week break before the race weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, the two race around the Belgian track the penultimate round of the championship for the junior formula drivers.

The Formula BMW Pacific entry for 2010 is the biggest in its seven year history and the drivers taken part are being treated to some big events at some great circuits. For 2010, the series is supporting two rounds of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the Malaysian and Singapore Grand Prix’s, a round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship at Okayama in Japan as well as the Macau Grand Prix. Added to this, eight races are taking part during the Asian Festival of Speed, four more races at Sepang in Malaysia, then four on the Korea International Circuit, giving drivers more experience of driving on Formula 1 standard circuits.

Despite the final calendar only just being confirmed, the series got underway back in April, with two races supporting the 2010 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix. The series returned to the Sepang circuit a month later for four races at the Asian Festival of Speed meeting.

Therefore next up is a trip to the brand new Korea International Circuit in August, for four more races at the Asian Festival of Speed meeting. This will be a learning curve for the team and drivers, with it being the first international race meeting held at the state of the art circuit.

Next up is a chance for the record field to get its first taste of street racing for the season, with the series supporting the 2010 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix in September, around the very impressive Marina Bay street circuit.

The penultimate meeting will be the series return to Japan, supporting the FIA World Touring Car Championship at the Okayama circuit. The series made its debut at the track last year and it became an instant hit with the drivers, so many will be glad to return this year.

This all leads up to the big finale in November around the Macau Guia circuit as part of the world famous Macau Grand Prix. This year, the 57^th running of the event, also includes the final rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship and the FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup, making it a massive event for the Formula BMW Pacific drivers to take part in. With the Formula 3 event on the same billing, it’s a great chance for the young drivers to showcase their skills to the world’s top Formula 3 teams, with the Grand Prix long being recognized as a launch-pad for many young drivers, including the likes of Aryton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher.

With such a great set of meetings lined up, the 2010 Formula BMW Pacific season looks like it could be a great season for the drivers and fans alike and a fitting send off for the series current format, which will be replaced in 2011 by the Formula BMW Talent Cup initiative.

2010 Formula BMW Pacific Calendar:

Click here for more information on the new Formula BMW Talent Cup concept.

Just as in the first race the rookie Spanish driver started the 11 lap race from pole. But, just as in the first race the 15-year-old found himself jumped by the more experienced man starting alongside him on the grid, Robin Frijns the man who led into the first corner in his Josef Kaufmann Racing machine.

However, unlike the first race Sainz refused to let the new leader escape, remaining in second, close behind for the opening laps before snatching back the lead.

“Again, I didn’t have a really good start,” admite Sainz. “I knew the others had more experience than me and they would start much faster than me, but after a few laps behind Robin I felt I had a better pace and I tried to overtake him and managed to do this. He was very fair with me when I did it. I want to thank the team and my family who are always there helping me. I am really, really happy as it was a perfect weekend for me.”

Pushed back to second Frijns now had to deal with championship leader Jack Harvey who had held position from his third place grid slot, but as the battles behind them intensified the leading trio were able to make a break, from those behind – and from each other.

Sainz went on to win by 2.3 second from Frijns (not the first time Spain who beat The Netherlands on the day) with Harvey, the race one winner a further second behind, his championship lead eroded slightly by Frijns.

“I feel quite well. It was second again. Luckily Jack finished behind me so this is good for the championship,” said Frinjs. “I was strong in the first sector, but had too much oversteer in the fast corners and Carlos was just a bit faster than me. I was holding Jack up a little, but that was it really. In the last lap I took it easy as my rear left wheel was a bit loose, so I was lucky I finished the race.”

Eifelland Racing driver Facu Regalia repeated his first race showing in fourth, having pressurised Harvey early on and Petri Suvanto, Frijn’s teammate finished fifth to be the second best rookie in the race, naturally behind Sainz.

“It was quite a good race and I had a good start, but had to fend off Facu for the first two laps,” described Harvey. “However, after that I managed to establish a gap to him in the right areas. I tried to chase down Robin but couldn’t really get close enough. I tried to overtake him but made a mistake on the exit of Maggots and lost the rear part of my floor on the car, so after that I didn’t have as much downforce.”

“It was a really good weekend so I am looking forward to Hockenheim. My goal here was to try and get a home win, which I did yesterday, I have had two podiums so I couldn’t really ask for any more.”

The Talent Cup’s main aims are to offer young drivers a comprehensive education, while preparing them for a career in Motorsport. It is aimed at younger drivers than the current format, looking at drivers aged 14 and over. Despite the format changing, the car won’t, with BMW continuing to use its Formula BMW FB02 model for the Talent Cup.

Mario Theissen, BMW’s Motorsport Director, explains: “Promoting young talent continues to be an important strand of our realigned project landscape. BMW has been actively involved in supporting talented young drivers since the 1970s and aims to continue this tradition. With the Formula BMW Talent Cup we are positioning ourselves between karting and professional Motorsport, so starting out a stage earlier than with our previous Formula BMW concept. This realignment allows us to react to new conditions and the increase in costs seen in junior, single-seater racing. As such we are offering young drivers an extremely cost-effective platform and are sharpening our focus on practical driving experience and driver education so to provide them with the best possible preparation for their future career on and beside the track. At the end of the one-year training, the greatest talent will win a season in an appropriate higher race series financed by BMW.”

The training aspect of the Talent Cup includes a complete education programme, teaching the youngsters an academic approach to Motorsport, including intensive tests on track. Then they will be steadily introduced to competitive Motorsport, through track sessions, focusing on car set up, long runs, practice starts and qualifying and race simulations.

The accompanying track programme features courses on data analysis and car set up, as well as courses on driving technique. Before the season, each driver will partake in a fitness test, determining their season long training programme, consisting of physical and mental training. Drivers are also prepared for how to deal with media and sponsors in the future.

The season culminates in a Grand Final, taking place in authentic competitive conditions in a professional motor racing setting. A season in the Talent Cup is open to 15 participants, costing 100,000 Euro. Entry is only open to those without experience in racing series outside of karting and will aim to allow drivers to compete in karting at the same time, where possible.

Formula BMW in its current format has been hugely successful all over the world, producing many Formula One drivers and being a great stepping stone for drivers to move on in their careers, with well over 70 drivers moving into Formula 3 or similar series after Formula BMW.

There are seven former Formula BMW racers in the 2010 Formula One field alone. Four of them, Timo Glock, Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg are former champions of the German series, Formula BMW ADAC, with Sebastian Buemi and Adrian Sutil also competing in that series. Bruno Senna formerly competed in the Formula BMW UK series.

The UK series ran for four seasons, between 2004 and 2007. Former Champions include 2004 winner Tim Bridgman, who has gone onto become Porsche Carrera Cup GB Champion in 2009, before moving into the Porsche Supercup for this season, 2005 winner Dean Smith, who became 2009 Formula Renault UK Champion and is now competing in GP3 and 2007 winner Marcus Ericsson, who became 2009 Japanese Formula 3 Champion and is this season a race winner in GP2.

With the current format being such a great success, it is hoped that the new ‘Talent Cup’ format will be just as successful in producing some top level race drivers. Any interested drivers should email Talent-Cup@FormulaBMW.com straight away. The official pre-registration for the 2011 season begins in late summer 2010 and all the latest information can be found at www.FormulaBMW.com.

Harvey had taken the lead from pole-sitter Carlos Sainz Jr. even before the field swung around Copse for the first time and the Fortec Motorsports driver had a one second lead by the end of the first lap after his title rival Robin Frijns and Facu Regalia had made their own way past Sainz who had fallen back despite pacing the qualifying session, taking pole by a quarter of a second.

“That was a great result,” beamed Harvey. “I had a pretty good start. I think Robin was right on my tail for the first three laps and then I managed to pull out a gap. I think he was getting closer at the end as he managed to reduce it, but I managed to pull out too big a gap in the middle of the race. This is my home Grand Prix so it is probably the most special win I have ever had.”

With a buffer already established after a single lap Harvey was able to cruise to his fifth victory of the season, extending his already comfortable championship lead over Frijns, the Dutchman collecting points for second place having pulled away from the battles that erupted behind him.

Through Harvey and Frijns had get away from Sainz the young Spaniard appeared determined to not let his pole-position to waste as he harried the rear of Regalia’s Eifelland Racing entry, and in an aggressive move he was past the Argentine, Sainz finishing the race third. In the process Sainz returned to winning the rookie class, having lost out for the first time this season in the second race at Valencia a fortnight ago.

However, despite the return to form, and trip to the overall podium he remained unimpressed by his own showing; “Not at all what I wanted today. I had a really bad start with massive wheelspin, so I lost first and then I braked too early for turn 13 and two cars [Frijns and Regalia] passed me. I was not happy with the first lap, but then I managed to pass Facu later on,” he said.

“By the end of the race I had lost some grip in my rears and the car was starting to slide. I lost my pace and it was impossible to catch up to the cars in front. In one way I enjoyed the race and in another way I didn’t. I enjoy racing but when you are not first after starting from pole you are not happy. Let’s see tomorrow as I have a second opportunity to do well.”

The second of the Silverstone races sees Sainz on pole once more, though this time it will be Dutchman Frijns attempting to pass him from the other side of the front row, roles reversed with Harvey who will try to record another double win beginning from third on the grid.

“It has been a perfect weekend. It is a street circuit, so every mistake gets punished,” he said. “You have to concentrate more so than at other circuits so you don’t hit the walls. Every race is difficult because there are a lot of good drivers out there just waiting for me to make a mistake. I am really happy with the win and also because it was my mum’s birthday on Thursday so hello to her.”

Only having a slightly less perfect weekend was DAMS driver Fahmi Ilyas, who followed up his race one second place with a third in race two, once more leading home his teammate Javier Tarancon, who finished the race fourth despite setting the fastest lap.

Ahead of both of them was Robin Frijns, improving on his race one fourth place. “The key point in racing is qualifying and I am not a qualifying king, and never was,” he said. “In this race I lost one position at the start and by the time I got to second Jack had already got a big gap so I could not close it. I am disappointed. I know I am fast as I did the quickest race lap yesterday, but always in qualifying there is something wrong with me. I am sure it is me as the car is okay, but I am just never on pole.”

Carlos Sainz Jr, shackled by a gird penalty that meant he started last, lost his perfect record of wins in the series’ rookie class. Despite contact with his Eurointernational teammate Michael Lewis on the opening lap Sainz had climbed to tenth at the end of the first lap. However, he was unable to progress any further, remaining there at the end of the race, third among the rookies behind Maciej Bernacik and Daniil Kvyat in the third Eurointernational car who took the class win, his first of the season.

“This was a very good and interesting race,” enthused Kvyat. “The start didn’t go very well as I lost some positions due to collisions in front of me. I was very close to George on the last lap, but not close enough to overtake him. It was a nice race and thanks to the Eurointernational team as the car was very good.”

Harvey leads the points standings by a commanding 33 points from Frijns with Timmy Hansen in third, the Swede losing ground on the two ahead, only managing a sixth place in the race.

Driving for British team Fortec Motorsport Harvey took advantage of battling behind him to bank a two second lead after only two laps. DAMS’ Fahmi Ilyas, in second, had to fend off an early challenge from Robin Frijns, who had already moved up a place from his grid slot. While both were forced to lose time to Harvey, Frijns was the ultimate victim an ill-timed move on the Malaysian ahead seeing him drop from third to fifth.

Freed of the challenge, and now with only his teammate as his nearest challenger Ilyas was able to make considerable ground on Harvey, cutting his two second lap two lead to just six-tenths by the end of lap six, but never able to make an impression for the race lead, falling back by the end of the race to cross the finish line two seconds behind the winner.

“[Frijns] was quite fast and attacking me. I defended but the third time when he tried to overtake going into the corner he made a mistake,” surmised Ilyas. “I then had a clear track behind me and was catching Jack, but then I had a problem with the car and dropped back. With two laps to go I was two seconds behind and it was too much to make up, but I am very happy with second place.”

“It is a great result for me and the team, the third win of the season out of five poles,” Harvey said. “It was a really tough race, actually the toughest race of the year so far. I had quite a good start and got two seconds in front and then Fahmi brought the gap down to point six, but then my car gradually got better and better and I managed to extend the lead again. I would like to see more of the same tomorrow, but let’s see.“

Javier Tarancon in the second DAMS car completed the podium, ahead of a recovering Frijns (who claimed fastest lap) and George Katsinis in the second Fortec entry.

Behind there were dramas for the Eurointernational and Jozef Kaufman Racing squads.

Petri Suvanto, driving for the latter made an over-ambitious move on the second lap while in tenth, lunging, looking to take ninth from his teammate Hannes Van Asseldonk, or even eighth Timmy Hansen. In the end all he got was an early retirement (taking innocent bystander Hansen with him) an a ten place grid penalty for the second race of the weekend.

Also on the losing side of a stewards decision was Eurointernational’s Carlos Sainz Jr., who despite taking the honour of best rookie in the race was also handed a ten place slap-on-the wrist for a coming together with Frenchman Côme Ledogar.

The 2009 FBMW season saw the team start with new sponsorship from PartyPokerRacing.com; this deal was for the GP2 part of the team but also covered FBMW. Romanian driver Doru Sechelariu, Italian Kevin Gilardoni and Spanish youngster Roman Pinerio joined the team for the season.

The 3 drivers all competed in the opening 5 events before losing their drives due to a dispute with another driver. This dispute meant that the team missed rounds 6 and 7 of the series and returned for the season finale, with 2 guest drivers, Austrian Kevin Friesacher and Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto. At the end of the season, the team finished off in 8^th position, with 19 points.

The team will announce their 2010 plans in the next few weeks.

Everyone involved with the team thank everyone connected with BMW and the series organisers.

Perhaps it is a little lost on European audiences, especially those who are casual motorsport fans and barely glance at the sport beyond two hours of F1 on a Sunday.

Perhaps it doesn’t help that as soon as I tell you it’s a street track you begin to imagine Monte Carlo with the glamorous yachts in the harbour with the glamorous people on board. A Monaco track that is lauded as the best street track for racing and the best venue for racing in the world.

But Macau isn’t just one place, it seems to a sort of split personality, hanging off China, and all you imagine China to be, but with all the riches you expect of Las Vegas or even, dare I say it Monte Carlo, with several of the famous Las Vega Strip resorts having twins in Macau.

And just like the land it sits on, the Guia circuit is not just one track.

It is many.

It is both Le Mans and Pau. It is both fast and slow, wide and insanely narrow. It is clad by ribbons of metal but still finds the space to blast down two sides of a reservoir.

The lap, deceptively short at only 3.8 miles, is perhaps more varied than any other track in the world.

Starting on the southern edge of the reservoir glances first left the right through wide sweeping bends, the car blaring at full throttle for nearly 30 seconds allowing competitors to draft up and possibly pass each other. However, a mistimed move can have serious consequences, with the high speed and the metal barriers always willing to end a race.

At the end of the straight lies a near-90 degree right handed – Lisboa. It is undoubtedly the best overtaking opportunity on the track, but again, one false move can end the race, with a car spun at Lisboa more than capable of blocking the track for those following.

Coming out of LIsboa and the next right hander – San Francisco – the track climbs uphill, though a fast set of weaving curves, passing within touching distance of towering wall through Maternity Bend and the Solitude Esses and on up the hill.

Then the circuit reveals its party trick – the Melco Hairpin. Everyone knows the hairpin at Monaco is tight, but Macau’s is tighter. Drivers swing all the way out to the left before slicing back with every available inch of steering to the right, a move that the drivers of the bigger GT cars during the weekend scarcely seem to manage.

And that is another area where Macau is incomparable to anything else in the world.

Where else would F3, Formula BMW, WTCC, GT3 sportscars and bikes share the same weekend on the same track?

It is the F3 race, called the Macau Grand Prix, and the Guia Race, which forms the finale of the WTCC which inevitably gain the international attention, thanks to the multi-national fields and the varied series the entrants represent, but Western names are also to be found in the other races, Danny Watts is once more entered in the GT3 race (alongside could-be Lotus driver Alex Yoong) while the 1000cc bike race will see familiar road racing names such as John McGuinness and Michael Rutter as headlines acts.

Action at Macau starts tomorrow (Thursday) and runs until Sunday, with Eurosport showing the the WTCC races. The rest of the European TV coverage is, unfortunately, very sketchy.

Making his Macau debut the Singaporean driver will be taking part in the legendary street race.

Speaking before the announcement he said: “I have no expectations for this weekend as it’s going to be my second race in the Formula BMW Pacific series, and it’s a Street Race once again.”

“However, my strategy for the weekend is simple. I must learn the track well and use what I have learnt till now in the last race of the year. I’m just looking forward to the first and only practice of the weekend. It’s going to be a tough race for me but I am confident because I have a wonderful team to work with.”

Team Manager Philippe Descombes, added “We know Suriya very well from his Asian Formula Renault outings and Singapore GP – Formula BMW race. We accomplished two days of prolific testing in Zhuhai, China, and we made some good progress with him. Suriya’s physical condition is much better than it was at the time of Singapore GP. Definitely Macau GP will be another very important experience for him to prepare the 2010 season.”

Practice kicks off 19 November with Qualifying on 21 November and the race 22 November at 9.10am local time.