Date 2005-10-14

Al Fardan and Ebrahim take a pole apiece.

Shanghai, China - Hamed Al Fardan (BAH/Team Meritus), 18, took pole position for Round 13 of Formula BMW Asia, while BMW Junior and Rookie Armaan Ebrahim (IND/Team E-Rain),16, took pole - his first in the series - for the final race of the 2005 season.

Second on the grid for Round 13 will be Ebrahim, while Australia's Michael Patrizi, (Team Meritus), who had held provisional pole for much of the session, was third fastest.

With one qualifying session setting the grid for the two races, the second fastest time for each driver dictates the start order for Round 14, and behind pole man Ebrahim will be Patrizi followed by Al Fardan.

Championship leader going in to the final rounds, held this weekend as part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix of China, Salman Al Khalifa (BAH/Team E-Rain) admitted he may have approached the session with a little too much confidence, and then lost his rhythm when he realised he wasn't clocking the times. However, he views starting from 7th on the grid for both races as a challenge he is more than up to.

South Korean and BMW Junior An Suk Won (Team E-Rain), impressed with the fourth quickest time of the session, while Malaysian Rookie, Charlie-Ro Charlez put in another good performance and will start from 5th and 4th respectively.

Racing in front of the enthusiastic Shanghai racing fans, BMW Junior Wang Jian Wei is joined this weekend by fellow countrymen Song Ge, and Ao Chi Hong of the Macau SAR.

Four drivers are still in contention for the Driver Classification: Al Khalifa, Patrizi, Al Fardan and Charlez, while Patrizi, Charlez and Ebrahim are also still in contention for the Rookie Cup.

With everything to race for - the Driver and Rookie Cup titles, plus coveted prizes of a season in Formula BMW UK and a BMW Scholarship for next year - the final two races of the 14-round season are shaping up to be memorable on Shanghai's state-of-the-art 5.451km track. The first of the two, 10-lap races will be held tomorrow (Saturday), while the second will run on Sunday morning.


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