08/12/07 - Gianmarco in Mexico for Formula BMW World Final

Gianmarco is in Mexico this weekend with Team Autotecnica for the Formula BMW World Final which takes place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. Drivers from around the world who competed in the Formula BMW series in America, Asia and Europe are all vying for the title of Champion, but the big prize for the winner is a test drive in the BMW Sauber Formula 1 car.

"It is great to be competing at this level against a very strong field of drivers" noted Gianmarco. "While the ideal goal is to get the win and the test in the F1 car, we are here to gain greater experience competing against those with European experience. This will help us in our goal to move up the ladder in open-wheel and racing in Europe would be the next logical step."

The Final race runs today (Sunday) following a series of heat races.

08/11/02 - Gianmarco claims 2008 Formula BMW Americas Rookie Championship!

The results of the final race are in and Gianmarco, with a fifth-place finish would secure the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Rookie Championship. It was very close at the end with Gianmarco starting the day two points back. Gmo had lead the rookie race all season long until the penultimate round on Saturday when he finished sixth and behind his closest rival. But it would seem that being patient pays off and Gianmarco, who started the day from fifth on the grid, would run a clean race an stay on pace to finish fifth and take the championship.

Congratulations to Gianmarco, his parents Emilio and Anna Maria and everyone at Team Autotecnica for a successful season. We will have updates when they return from Brazil.

08/09/28 - Another podium for Gianmarco - P3 at New Jersey Continues to lead Rookie Championship

It was another double-header weekend at New Jersey Motorsport Park's Thunderbolt Raceway last weekend - and the last race in North America this season in the Formula BMW Americas series. Gianmarco would come away from the weekend with his lead in the rookie championship intact on the strength of a podium finish on Saturday and a sixth on Sunday.

Gianmarco qualified sixth for the races and on Saturday, would take advantage of every opportunity to move up during the race and come to the checkers in third place. Starting sixth on Sunday, the race unfolded a bit differently and Gianmarco would cross the line in sixth place. This was enough to hold onto his position as lead rookie going into the final races.

The teams now have another break in the action as the cars are shipped to Brazil for the final two races. Taking place as part of the Formula 1 event at Interlagos, Gianmarco, while hoping to step on the podium once again, is determined to wrap up the rookie championship which will let him continue as a Formula BMW Junior going into the '09 season.

08/08/18 - Mid Summer Break

There is more than a month to wait for the next rounds of the Formula BMW Americas series taking place at Thunderbolt Raceway in New Jersey. This event will feature three more races in the series before the group heads to Brazil in late October for the final races as part of the Formula 1 event at Interlagos.

Gianmarco is still leading the rookie championship but the gap to second has closed up as the recent races at Road America proved a challenge for Gmo and Team Autotecnica.

"Missing the podium at Road America hurt us a bit" commented Gianmarco "but with some good results at Thunderbolt, we can open up the lead and hopefully give us some comfort room going into the final races." He continued, "Road America is a tough course. It is long, has some very fast corners and the elevation changes, especially the long uphill front straight, require just the right balance of power and downforce to run consistently good laps."

Gianmarco will spend the next few weeks working on conditioning and getting mentally prepared for the final races of the season.

08/08/06 - Road America this weekend - a triple header

Gianmarco and the Autotecnica crew are headed to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin this weekend for the next three rounds of the Formula BMW Americas series. Gianmarco is still leading the rookie championship after taking two top-five results at Lime Rock a few weeks ago. This included a podium in race 2 (P3) and Gianmarco continues to place as the top rookie in most races.

Gianmarco and the team recently tested at Putnam Park with the rest of the FBMW Americas teams and they worked on race setup and consistency that would take them through the rest of the season. They also had the opportunity to run in the rain and test their setup for wet conditions. This is valuable going into the latter part of the season at tracks where weather can be an issue.

08/07/12 - Lime Rock race results: podium in race two - continues as top rookie

Gianmarco would make up a position in race one this morning to finish fourth adding valuable points to his championship run. He would be the top rookie and top BMW Junior in the race.

Two and a half hours after completing race one, Gianmarco was back on track for race two. From the P3 starting position he would wage a close battle for second place early in the race. Gmo would hold position to the end, adding another podium result on the year. Once again the top rookie and BMW Junior, he has retained his lead in the rookie championship and sits a solid third place in the overall standings.

Gmo will next head to Putnam Park for a sanctioned Formula BMW test ahead of the next races at Road America in early August.

08/07/11 - Lime Rock updates: Qualifying results (provisional) and some schedule changes

It's back to just two races this weekend as the schedule at Lime Rock is crammed into just two days and there are a number of other series at the circuit. Gianmarco was fourth after morning practice and the rest of the day would consist of qualifying sessions for races on Saturday. In Q1, Gianmarco would finish fifth and be the top rookie. He will start the first race from the inside of row 3.

In qualifying for the second race, Gianmarco would be at the top of the charts for some time (P2) but just get nipped at the checkers and be bumped to the inside of row 2 for the race. NOTE: at the moment, results are listed as provisional. We will update as news comes available. The first race is schedule to run at 09:10 ET with race two at 12:10 ET

08/07/07 - Gianmarco has a rough weekend at Mid Ohio Looking to make up some ground at Lime Rock this weekend

Everybody has a bad weekend and Gmo is hoping that Mid Ohio was it. While salvaging some points and retaining the lead in the rookie championship, he fell to third in the overall race. Gmo commented, "We had a number of things we were working on and just ended up going in the wrong direction. There are a lot more races in the season and we'll be back on form."

Gianmarco will be back on track this weekend (july 11-12) at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut for a three-race weekend. The series has added three races to the season and this weekend will see the addition of one to the schedule. It is a hectic schedule at Lime Rock where racing is prohibited on Sunday so practice, qualifying and racing will take place Friday and Saturday. We will have reports throughout the weekend.

08/06/08 - Gianmarco leaves Montreal still in the points lead, awarded P2 for Saturday's race

In reviewing updates from the Formula BMW Americas, we find that Gianmarco remains the championship points leader after four races despite suffering a DNF on Sunday. Ginamarco finished fourth in the race on Saturday after falling back to P8 in the early stages. In charging back through the field he would also set the fastest lap of the race. The position would help him retain the points lead but some late breaking news would be important in keeping that lead.

Sunday did not go as well for Gmo and despite leading from pole. He was four car lengths in front when an accident in corner 1 brought out the pace car allowing the pack to close the gap behind him. After the pace car went in, Gmo remained in the lead through corners 1-4. Gianmarco side swiped the wall in corner 5 which allowed the second place car to get past him. Gmo got back in the race in 2nd however was losing steam and was getting passed the other cars, finally retiring to the pits with a cracked gear box. Some missed points that could have been costly.

However, in a series of post-race inspections, two cars that finished ahead of him on Saturday were disqualified for technical infractions and Gmo was moved up to second place. The extra points made up for missing out on Sunday.

Gianmarco now has 56 points to lead the series overall championship by seven points. He has a 22-point lead in the rookie championship.

There is no time to rest before the next two races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 20-22. Practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday with both races taking place on Sunday.

08/06/06 - Formula BMW Qualifying - Montreal: Gianmarco on pole Sunday

Racing with the Grand Prix circuit always creates a challenge when track time is very limited, but Gianmarco made the most of the 30-minute morning session and turn in some solid qualifying laps.

Rather than the two sessions normally used (one for each face), these Grand Prix events feature a single qualifying session where a drivers fastest lap sets the grid for race one and his second fastest for race two. Race one will see Gianmarco on the outside of row two - he is P4 just .287 off pole.

Consistency paid off for Gianmarco as he put in two fast laps at 1:46.5, the second being enough to secure pole on for Sunday's race.

There is an expanded field in Formula BMW Americas this weekend with guest drivers from the European series. Being near the front is a good place to build points over the weekend. We will have more reports later on - including some news about the BMW Canada dinner on Thursday night where Gianmarco was seated next to BMW-Sauber F1 driver Robert Kubica.

08/05/18 - Gianmarco wins both races at Formula BMW Americas season opener!

eventeen year old Gianmarco Raimondo would become the first rookie ever in the history of the Formula BMW USA (now Americas) series to win both opening races since the series started in 2004. He is also only the second driver to do so since 2004.

Gianmarco would steer his Team Autotecnica #50 BMW FB02 to victory in race one on Saturday (17th) from the P3 position on the grid. On Sunday, starting from the front row (P2), the St. Catharines, Ontario native would control the race from lap one and through two restarts following full course cautions, be perfect on cold tires to break away from the field.

08/05/12 - Formula BMW Americas season opens this weekend in California

After a long winter of testing and three official spring training sessions, seventeen-year-old Gianmarco Raimondo is looking forward to his first competition in the Formula BMW Americas Series. Driving for Concord, Ontario- based Team Autotecnica, Gianmarco seems well prepared – and excited about the first two races at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California.

"It's great to finally get the season underway" commented Gianmarco, who was awarded a Formula BMW Junior Scholarship earlier this year. "We have put in a lot of track time since January but there is nothing like competition to really get you going. It's very exciting to run my first race at a famous track like Laguna Seca. I am looking forward to competing with Autotecnica and challenging for the rookie and series championships,"

The St. Catharines, Ontario teen was most recently testing at tracks in Utah (Miller Motorsport Park) and northern California (Thunderhill Raceway Park) in preparation for this weekend's race. Gianmarco returned from the west coast to squeeze in a couple of days at school – and to get a change of clothes, then heads back to California on Wednesday (14th) for pre-race activities.

Team Autotecnica manager Enrico Diano also expressed excitement about the beginning of the season. "We are looking forward to being in race mode" he said between test sessions. "We followed a plan with Gianmarco through testing to bring him up to speed with the car and with the team. Communication and trust are important components of any team and especially under racing conditions." Diano continued, " We are very happy where we are with Gianmarco right now and we all hope for a good race at Laguna this weekend."

Gianmarco will be on track Friday (16th) for practice with qualifying and race one taking place on Saturday. More qualifying and race two are on Sunday. The event is part of the Monterey Festival of Speed which also features Formula Atlantic and the headlining Rolex Grand Am Series. Updates will be provided throughout the weekend.

08/04/08 - Formula BMW Americas: First Official Test Days

Gianmarco and the Team Autotecnica crew were at Virginia International Raceway this past weekend for the first official Formula BMW Americas test. The team's goal during this session was work on car setup and continue to get Gianmarco more comfortable with the FB02 car under varying conditions.

"We have completed a number of test sessions prior to this to work on car control with shifting and braking in what is a new environment for Gianmarco." commented team manager Enrico Diano. "There is a lot to learn going from karts to a wings-and-slicks race car and Gianmarco has taken to it very well. This first official test allowed us to work up slowly with more cars on the track and by the end of the weekend, we were happy with the progress." He continued, "We are looking forward to the next session at Miller Motorsport Park in a few weeks."

Gianmarco would improve with each session as conditions changed throughout the weekend. By then end of the test he was on a pace that will serve him well from the start of the season.

"It has been great working with everyone at Team Autotecnica", offered Gianmarco. "The attention to detail in car setup and analyzing data has really helped me come up to speed quickly. We are looking forward to the next test and the start of the racing season."

The next official test is at Miller Motorsport Park in Utah on April 26 & 27. The teams then travel to California for a final test session ahead of the first race at Laguna Seca on May 16 &17.

08/02/29 - Gianmarco confirmed as Formula BMW Junior for 2008

Formula BMW Americas today confirmed the Junior drivers to be awarded scholarships for the 2008 season. We are pleased to announce that Gianmarco has been selected and will participate in the program.

Formula BMW Americas notes: "The concept behind the Formula BMW Americas Junior program is to nurture young drivers towards a racing career by training them to the highest possible levels, drawing on the vast expertise and experience of BMW Motorsport."

Formula BMW Americas has also confirmed their schedule for this year with rounds 5 & 6 taking place at the Mid Ohio Race Course on June 20-22.

08/02/18 - Gianmarco signs with Team Autotecnica

Since attending the Formula BMW licensing course last year, seventeen-year-old Gianmarco Raimondo's goal has been to compete in the North America open-wheel series and compete for a championship. Today he is one step closer to his goal having signed to race with Toronto-based Team Autotecnica in 2008.

"Our goal at the end of the season was to make the move to open-wheel cars in 2008" Gianmarco stated in a recent interview.

Enrico Diano, Manager of Team Autotecnica commented, "The whole team is looking forward to running this season with Gianmarco. He's already proven to have the skills we are looking for in helping him achieve his goals of winning races and fighting for the Rookie and overall championship titles." He continued, " He is naturally fast and with a good amount of pre-season testing, we will help him refine his driving to be a front runner in the 2008 races."

Official testing for the Formula BMW Americas series begins April 5th at Virginia International Raceway. The first race takes place at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California on May 16-18. The series also makes a stop in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and ends the season at the Formula 1 race in Brazil.

Click HERE to read the complete press release. (pdf format)