Talent promotion pays dividends.
As the season just ended has clearly shown, there is no other globe-spanning entry-level series in which talented young drivers who have grown out of their karts are offered such an invaluable introduction to professional motor racing as Formula BMW. All four champions of the successful sister series in Germany, Britain, North America and Asia took part in the BMW Education and Coaching Programme before their triumphs on the race track.
"If rough diamonds are to be turned into gems," says BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, "they first need to be polished. In terms of motor racing that means junior drivers need a comprehensive training programme tailored to their needs. Formula BMW is just such a school to prepare for the life of a racing driver." Whether driving technique, chassis set-up, fitness or media training - as part of the tried and tested BMW promotion scheme the young drivers are provided with the necessary stock-in-trade with which to make their mark in the big wide world of motor sport.
At BMW, the tradition of talent promotion goes all the way back to the late 1970s when the BMW Junior Team made a name for itself in motor racing. As part of the Procar Series, up-and-coming young drivers competed against well-known Formula One stars. Since 1991, BMW has been collaborating with the ADAC in the German motor sport scene. In 2002 this cooperation led to the founding of the new Formula BMW ADAC Championship in which a standard car - the Formula BMW FB02 - sets benchmarks above all in terms of safety technology. In the following years, the series went international with great success. In 2003 the concept was first exported to Asia, and a year later to Great Britain and the USA as well.
The latest example of how Formula BMW graduates are primed for a successful future is Sebastian Vettel (Heppenheim). Last year, the 18-year-old took a commanding Formula BMW ADAC Championship title and on 27th September 2005 had the opportunity to take a test drive with the BMW WilliamsF1 Team in Jerez, Spain. That same opportunity also awaits the winner of the first Formula BMW World Final, which takes place from 13th to 16th December 2005 in Bahrain. This event represents the highlight so far of the global rise of Formula BMW.
