Mexican wins Formula BMW European title

Esteban Gutierrez

Esteban Gutierrez entered the history books of the young driver series by claiming the first Formula BMW Europe title after the Saturday race in Monza. His fourth place to winner Tiago Geronimi (BR) was sufficient to secure the title at the high speed Italian circuit. "Winning the Formula BMW Europe title is something very special for me. From race to race I was able to learn new things every time. It's a long way right to the top of Formula One, but when you look at former Formula BMW drivers like Vettel and Rosberg, for example, you see that an advance of that kind is certainly possible," said the ecstatic Mexican.

BMW Motorsports boss Mario Theissen presents the championship trophy to Gutierrez

Gutierrez had the opportunity of meeting his role models at the Saturday evening Formula BMW get-together. Beside BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, who personally congratulated the freshly-minted title-holder, he met BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers Robert Kubica (PL) and Christian Klien (AT). In addition, former Formula BMW winners such as Sebastian Vettel (DE), who went on to win the next day’s Italian Grand Prix, and Nico Rosberg met with the young talents.

On Sunday the 16th and last round of the season decided the remaining 2008 Formula BMW Europe series standings. Despite another victory by Geronimi, it was Michael Christensen (DK) who secured the "Rookie of the Year“ title. The team award went to "Josef Kaufmann Racing". Marco Wittmann (DE, 327 points) and Adrien Tambay (FR, 260) placed second and third respectively behind Gutierrez (353) in the overall drivers’ classification.

Formula BMW Europe 2008

Driver Standings after 16 out of 16 rounds:

1. Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 353,
2. Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 327,
3. Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing) 260,
4. Daniel Juncadella (ES/Eurointernational) 237,
5. Tiago Geronimi (BR/Eifelland Racing) 187,
6. Michael Christensen* (DK/Double R Racing) 158,
7. Pedro Bianchini (BR/FMS International) 145,
8. Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS Team) 136,
9. Carlos Huertas (Co/Double R Racing) 136,
10. David Mengesdorf* (DE/MÃ¼cke Motorsport) 124,
11. Mihai Marinescu (RO/FMS International) 118,
12. William Buller (GB/Fortec Motorsport) 87,
13. Rupert Svendsen-Cook (GB/Double R Racing) 81,
14. Jazeman Jaafar (MY/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 67,
15. Doru Sechelariu (RO/Fortec Motorsport) 64,
16. Facundo Regalia* (ITA/Eurointernational) 60,
17. Jim Pla (FR/DAMS Team) 54,
18. Kazeem Manzur* (GB/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 47,
19. Henrique Martins* (BR/Eifelland Racing) 38,
20. Ramon Pineiro* (ES/Fortec Motorsport) 37,
21. Ollie Millroy* (GB/FMS International) 20,
22. Mathijs Harkema (NL/Motaworld Racing) 20,
23. Thomas Hillsdon* (GB/Motaworld Racing) 19,
24. Jordan Williams (GB/DAMS Team) 4,
25. Juan Cevallos (EC/MÃ¼cke Motorsport) 3,
26. Bastian Graber (DE/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 2,
27. Anthony Comas (FR/MÃ¼cke Motorsport) 0,
28. Kyle Mitchell (ZA/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 0,
29. Asad Rahman* (AE/Motaworld Racing) 0.

Rookie standings:

1. Michael Christensen* (DK/Double R Racing) 158,
2. David Mengesdorf* (DE/MÃ¼cke Motorsport) 124,
3. Facundo Regalia* (ITA/Eurointernational) 60,
4. Kazeem Manzur* (GB/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 47,
5. Henrique Martins* (BR/Eifelland Racing) 38,
6. Ramon Pineiro* (ES/Fortec Motorsport) 37,
7. Ollie Millroy* (GB/FMS International) 20,
8. Thomas Hillsdon* (GB/Motaworld Racing) 19,
9. Asad Rahman* (AE/Motaworld Racing) 0.