| Gianmarco claims 2008 Formula BMW Americas Rookie Championship ! |
| November 2, 2008 - 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. |
| Another podium for Gianmarco - P3 at New Jersey Continues to lead Rookie Championship |
| September 28 , 2008 - 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. New Photo Gallery: New Jersey Motorsport Park |
| A break in the action |
| August 18 , 2008 - 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. New Photo Gallery: Lime Rock Park |
| Road America this weekend - a triple header |
| August 6 , 2008 - 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. Full results and points can be found at www.formulabmwamericas.com |
| Lime Rock race results: podium in race two - continues as top rookie |
| July 12 , 2008 - 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. Full results and points can be found at www.formulabmwamericas.com |
| Lime Rock updates: Qualifying results (provisional) and some schedule changes |
| July 11 , 2008 - 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 |