Sepang, Malaysia – Malaysian teenage sensation Jazeman Jaafar scored his third win in five races today, taking victory in Round 5 of Formula BMW Asia and making it a 1-2-3 for his Team Meritus. Team mates BMW Junior Ross Jamison of Hong Kong (17), and pole-sitter James Grunwell (THA/18) were second and third, after some confusion over the starting procedure lost the Thai his pole position advantage. “I’m disappointed not to have won because of someone else’s mistake,” said Grunwell. “But I wouldn’t take anything away from Jazeman who drove a perfect race – all credit to him.”
Jazeman’s win strengthens his lead at the top of the Driver Classification, with an impressive 57 point advantage over Grunwell in 2nd. Jamison moves up to 3rd in the Driver Classification and now tops the Rookie Cup leaderboard. A disastrous outing which saw him crash out early on in the race puts BMW Junior Akhil Khushlani (IND/17/Eurasia Motorsport) down the leaderboard from 2nd to 6th overall, and 3rd in the Rookie Cup standings behind BMW Junior Kyle Mitchell of South Africa (16/Eurasia Motorsport).
Mitchell was 4th overall and the second Rookie Cup finisher behind Jamison, while another Malaysian Imran Shaharom (19) showed a massive improvement to place 3rd in the Rookie Cup for new Team Holzer PFX. Jazeman and Shaharom’s performances also strengthen Malaysia’s lead in the Nations Classification to 16 ahead of Thailand, which is now 2nd thanks to Grunwell.
Off the start, Jazeman was quick to take advantage of Grunwell’s hesitation and sped by to take the lead, which he held to the chequered flag. Likewise, Jamison shot by into 2nd and, despite closing the gap to the Malaysian at one stage, wasn’t able to seriously challenge for the win. Indonesian Zahir Ali (Team TARADTM) was up to 3rd at one stage, having qualified in 5th, but brake problems kicked in on the second lap of the 10-lap race and he had dropped down 9th by the finish.
Grunwell meanwhile was on a charge through the field, desperate to regain the lead. Despite a few mistakes, he ploughed through to cross the line in 3rd position.
Mitchell put in a sterling performance to finish 4th from 8th on the grid, having suffered uncomfortable injuries in a bicycle accident earlier this week and put up a spirited defense of his 3rd place against Grunwell. Fellow BMW Junior David Zhu of China (Team Meritus) had earlier set his best qualifying time to start from 4th on the grid.
For many of the drivers, it was their first outing on the full 5.542km Grand Prix Circuit in Malaysia, having competed on the shorter North Track last month. Sepang International Circuit Ambassador Jazeman was delighted to have notched up another win in the series, and found the newly-resurfaced track interesting, while Grunwell did have the satisfaction of retaining his fastest lap record, with a 2:11.817 fastest lap.
Round 5.
POS NO Driver/Nat Entrant Time
1 33 Jazeman JAAFAR (MAS) Team Meritus 22:49.869
2 88 Ross JAMISON*• (HKG) Team Meritus +2.333
3 38 James GRUNWELL (THA) Team Meritus +11.726
4 28 Kyle MITCHELL*• (RSA) Eurasia Motorsport +19.861
5 5 Imran SHAHAROM• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +28.779
6 2 Sean MC DONAGH• (USA) Team E-Rain +30.369
7 77 Johan ADZMI• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +39.103
8 68 David ZHU*• (CHN) Team Meritus +39.275
9 8 Zahir ALI (INA) Team TARADTM +41.857
10 7 Shohei SHIROMOTO*• (JPN) Team E-Rain +44.987
11 11 Melvin MOH• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +45.565
12 99 Dennis VOLLMAIR• (GER) Engstler Racing +47.395
13 37 Cchiranjeev R. BEDI (IND) Engstler Motorsport +1:10.464
DNF 58 Huzair HARUN RASIP• Team Meritus -
DNF 27 Akhil KHUSHLANI*• (IND) Eurasia Motorsport -
Pole Position: James Grunwell/Team Meritus/2:11.538
Fastest Lap: James Grunwell/Team Meritus/2:11.817/145.669kph
*Scholarship driver
•Rookie Cup
# Non-Series Registered
Championship Points Tables after Round 5.
Drivers
1.Jazeman Jaafar (MAS/Team Meritus) 206 points; 2. James Grunwell (THA/Team Meritus) 149 points; 3. Ross Jamison (HKG/Team Meritus) 144 points; 4. Zahir Ali (INA/TARADTM) 143 points; 5. Kyle Mitchell (RSA/Eurasia Motorsport) 129 points; 6. Akhil Khushlani (IND/Eurasia Motorsport) 128 points; 7. Johan Adzmi (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 117 points; 8. Dennis Vollmair (GER/Engstler Racing) 104 points; 9. David Zhu (CHN/Team Meritus) 97 points; 9. Shohei Shiromoto (JPN/Team E-Rain) 94 points; 10. 11. Sean McDonagh (USA/Team E-Rain) 90 points; 12. Imran Shaharom (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 88 points; 13. Melvin Moh (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 68; 14. Cchiranjeev R. Bedi (IND/Engstler Bollywood racing) 56 points.
Rookie Cup
1. Jamison 144; 2. Mitchell 129; 3. Khushlani 128; 4. Adzmi 117; 5. Vollmair 104; 6. David Zhu 97; 7. Shiromoto 94; 8. McDonagh 90; 9. Shaharom 88; 10. Moh 68; Bedi 56.
Nations Cup
1. Malaysia, 47; 2. Thailand, 31; 3. Hong Kong, 30; 4. Indonesia, 29; 5. South Africa, 26; 6. India, 25; 7. China, 20; 8. Germany, 17; 9. USA, 16; 10. Japan
Team Classification
1. Team Meritus 411; 2. Eurasia Motorsport, 257; 3. Team Holzer PFX, 229; 4. Team E-Rain, 184; 5. Engstler Motorsport, 160; 6. Team TARADTM, 140.
Statistics:
Winners 2007: Jazeman Jaafar (3); James Grunwell (1); Zahir Ali (1)
Pole Positions: Zahir Ali (3); Jazeman Jaafar (1); James Grunwell (1)
Podiums: Jazeman Jaafar (4); James Grunwell (3); Zahir Ali (2); Kyle Mitchell (2); David Zhu (1); Ross Jamison (2); Johan Adzmi (1)
Rookie Cup Winners: Jamison (3); Mitchell (2)
Background:
Formula BMW is the world’s leading entry-level class in Formula racing. In 2007 the series will be held in Germany, the UK, Asia and the USA. Up-and-coming drivers as young as 15-years-old are given the opportunity of entering motor racing with the high-tech, standard FB02 race car.
This racing car has been seen on the grid since 2002 and has set standards particularly on the safety technology front. The single-seater is propelled by a 140 bhp BMW engine up to 230km/h and exceeds the FIA safety requirements for its class. BMW Motorsport has developed the FORS Formula Rescue Race Seat especially for Formula BMW. The HANS safety system is also mandatory.
In 2007, Formula BMW will be staged four times as part of the Formula One support programme. All the series offer a multifaceted Education and Coaching Programme as well as sponsorship for promising racing talents. The best-known alumni of this talent hothouse are Formula One drivers Sebastian Vettel, Timo Glock, Adrian Sutil and Nico Rosberg.
BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen: “Formula BMW offers talented young drivers more than just a car. In the Education and Coaching Programme we have designed specially for them, they learn everything they need to know to hold their own in the big wide world of motor racing. Formula BMW has shot out of the blocks to become the top entry-level class for Formula racing worldwide.”
THE MERITUS TEAM BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Meritus was originally created in 1980 and successfully operated teams in Europe in GT’s, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Formula Opel Lotus, F3 and F3000, assisting the career development of European champions such as Anthony Reid (BTCC champion), Vincenzo Sospiri (European F3000 champion) and giving current F1 driver David Coulthard his first ‘slicks and wings’ experience in a formula car. It is now a wholly-owned Malaysian motorsport franchise, headed up by Firhat Yuri bin Dato Mokhzani and Peter Thompson. The Meritus team have operated in Asia since 1995 where we have won 23 motorsport titles to date including the 2003, 04, 05 and 06 Formula BMW Asia championships.
We have helped four of our Asian drivers achieve their career goals of driving an F1 car, including our 1996 champion Narain Karthikeyan (F1 Jordan and current Williams F1 test driver) and our 1999 champion Takuma Sato (F1 Jordan, BAR Honda and current Aguri Suzuka F1 driver).
Meritus operates teams in Formula BMW Asia, Formula V6 Asia and Formula Toyota New Zealand. The 2007 F.BMW/Asia championship has already signed-up 17 drivers (with a possible grid of up to 20 drivers participating in the series). Meritus driver line-ups are as follows:
1) Meritus Formula BMW Asia:
a) Jazeman Jaafar Car No. 33 Malaysian
b) James Grunwell Car No. 38 Thailand
c) Ross Jamison Car No. 88 Hong Kong
d) Huzair Haran Car No. 58 Malaysian
e) David Zhu Car No. 68 Chinese
f) Omer Younas Car No. 78 Pakistan
More information on the team and its drivers can be found on our website: www.meritusracing.com or through the following contacts:
Peter Thompson - Team Principal +60 12 3027434 peter@meritusracing.com
Firhat Mokhzani - Team Manager +60 12 2953365 firhat@meritusracing.com
Karim Al Wadi - China Manager +86 13910119592 karim@meritusracing.com
Bernard Chin - Malaysian PR +60 12 2770000 yan@pc.jaring.my
Agnes Carlier - International PR +41 79 4554422 acarlier@capp.ch
Nikki Kemp - Asia Regional PR +852 90146109 nikkikemp@prplus.com.hk
Formula BMW Asia 2007.Provisional Entry List.
No. Driver Nat. Entrant
2 Sean MC DONAGH• USA Team E-Rain
5 Imran Zaharias Bin SHAHAROM• MAS Team Holzer PFX
7 Shohei SHIROMOTO*• JPN Team E-Rain
8 Zahir ALI INA Team TARADTM
11 Melvin MOH Chun-Ho• MAS Team Holzer PFX
27 Akhil KHUSHLANI*• IND Eurasia Motorsport
28 Kyle MITCHELL*• KSA Eurasia Motorsport
33 Jazeman JAAFAR MAS Team Meritus
37 Cchiranjeev R. BEDI• IND Engstler Bollywood Racing
38 James Grunwell THA Team Meritus
58 Huzair HURAN• MAS Team Meritus
68 David ZHU*• CHN Team Meritus
77 Johan Bin ADZMI• MAS Team Holzer PFX
78 Omer YOUNAS• PAK Team Meritus
88 Ross JAMISON*• HKG Team Meritus
99 Dennis VOLLMAIR• GER Engstler Bollywood Racing
*Scholarship driver
•Rookie Cup
# Non-Series Registered
