Gianmarco Raimondo Looks Forward To First Race In Formula BMW Americas Series
May 13, 2008
E. Raimondo
St. Catharines, Ontario – After a long winter of testing and three official spring training sessions, seventeen-year-old Gianmarco Raimondo is looking forward to his first competition in the Formula BMW Americas Series. Driving for Concord, Ontario- based Team Autotecnica, Gianmarco seems well prepared – and excited about the first two races at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California.
“It’s great to finally get the season underway” commented Gianmarco, who was awarded a Formula BMW Junior Scholarship earlier this year. “We have put in a lot of track time since January but there is nothing like competition to really get you going. It’s very exciting to run my first race at a famous track like Laguna Seca. I am looking forward to competing with Autotecnica and challenging for the rookie and series championships,”
The St. Catharines, Ontario teen was most recently testing at tracks in Utah (Miller Motorsport Park) and northern California (Thunderhill Raceway Park) in preparation for this weekend’s race. Gianmarco returned from the west coast to squeeze in a couple of days at school – and to get a change of clothes, then heads back to California on Wednesday (14th) for pre-race activities.
Team Autotecnica manager Enrico Diano also expressed excitement about the beginning of the season. “We are looking forward to being in race mode” he said between test sessions. “We followed a plan with Gianmarco through testing to bring him up to speed with the car and with the team. Communication and trust are important components of any team and especially under racing conditions.” Diano continued, “ We are very happy where we are with Gianmarco right now and we all hope for a good race at Laguna this weekend.”
Driver Facts:
Seventeen-year-old Gianmarco Raimondo is a 2008 Formula BMW Americas Junior. A graduate of the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship (SRFKC) where he raced Intercontinental C (ICC) shifter karts, He also raced in the Stars of Karting series with Hamilton, Ontario-based Cameron Motorsports. At the end of the 2007 racing season, Gianmarco was awarded a scholarship by SRFKC to compete in the Skip Barber Southern Region Championship where he scored a podium result in a race at Sebring in January of this year. He now races with Team Autotecnica in the Formula BMW Americas series.
