Dream Donington opener for Curnow’s new team (14 Apr 05)

Young Salisbury driver, Ross Curnow, gave Promatecme/Soper Sport a podium finish in its first ever race in the Formula BMW racing category at Donington Park on Sunday.

After good test sessions, first at Thruxton and then at Donington on the previous Thursday, most of the earlier handling problems seemed to be resolved and Ross qualified on the front row for the first race, 0.07 sec off pole. In a thrilling race which entertained live TV viewers from start to finish, Curnow was involved in a tight battle throughout, finally finishing 2^nd.

In another close grid for Race 2, Curnow qualified 4^th, just 0.1 sec behind the fastest time. After a great start, he fought his way up to 2^nd and was closing on the leader when the race was red-flagged after a midfield incident. Too much wheelspin on the restart, however, saw Ross drop back and after an action packed race and hectic  last lap, he finished 5^th.

The combined results put him 2^nd in the Championship - a result which delighted team principal Chris Weller: “These are stunning results on the team’s debut in what is a very competitive racing arena. Qualifying and the two races ran very well for us and in Ross we’ve got a cracking young driver.

Only last month, his Promatecme squad had joined forces with Curnow’s driver consultant, former Touring Car legend Steve Soper, to form Promatecme/Soper Sport.

Weller added: “I’m particularly pleased with the way our team has got to grips with what is a new car, plus the very constructive support from Steve. It’s not too bold to say we have a good chance of winning the BMW title in our first year in the Championship.”

The next two races take place at Thruxton on the weekend of 30^th April/1^st May.

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