Young Mexican making his mark early
True to form, Esteban Gutierrez led flag-to-flag to win today's round 12 of the Formula BMW USA championship.
08/11/07 As we told you, keep your eye on this Mexican youngster. He started dead last in today's race (round 11) and came all the way up through the field to finish 2nd by inches (0.004 sec.). An amazing drive. He is the real deal. He starts from pole for Sunday's Round 12.
08/11/07 Keep your eye on Esteban Gutierrez (pictured right), a 16-year old driver from Monterrey, Mexico. He has a good chance of winning this year's Formula BMW USA championship and we had a chance to speak to him Friday in Road America after he won the pole position for Round 12.
"Thursday was a tough day. After winning the pole for Round 11 we were disqualified for a minor infraction and will start from the back. Today I was happy to win the pole for Round 12, his 8th pole in 12 races – which is quite amazing in a spec car.
"It will be hard to win Round 11 from the back but I will try."
He hasn't been racing very long but already he has shown how talented he is.
"Two years ago I never dreamed I would be a race car driver. Then I started racing go-karts after convincing my parents to buy me a go-kart. I did well and here I am. It's my first year driving a car but I am doing better than I expected."
His ultimate goal is F1. He hopes to get into the Formula BMW World Final in Valencia. The winner there gets a BMW F1 test.
"If I win the title this year I may go to Europe next year to race. That is probably the best route to take to make it in F1."
We talked about Formula 3 in Europe being the best next step for the Mexican youngster.