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Reigning
British F3 International Series Champion Marko Asmer has become the latest
British F3 graduate to step up to the top level of motorsport after being named
as a one of two test drivers for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. Former F1 driver
Christian Klien has been signed up as a test and reserve driver, while Asmer
will take the role of the team’s junior test driver.
"We
wanted a third driver with Formula One racing experience," explains BMW
Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, "as well as an up-and-coming young driver
for us to train up to Formula One level. With Christian we have signed on a
driver who is familiar with the format of a grand prix weekend and can step into
the breach right away should one of our team drivers have to back out. Marko has
driven our car four times since 4th December and has made steady progress. He
has worked in a concentrated, focused and calm fashion. The feedback from the
engineers bears positive testimony to him, and the chemistry between him and the
team is right as well."
Marko
Asmer (born 30th July 1984 in Tallinn, Estonia) says: "I always hoped for an
opportunity to get into Formula One. Naturally I did everything I could to avoid
any mistakes and to do a good job. I learnt a lot while driving in the tests at
Jerez and Valencia, but also as a spectator and observer. I was given a very
friendly welcome and got on just fine. I feel good in the BMW Sauber F1 Team and
I'm very grateful to be a part of it now."
Asmer
was Estonian, Baltic, Finnish and Scandinavian kart champion, dominated the
World Kart Championship, and was honoured in 2001 as the world's most talented
kart driver. Formula Ford proved to be the most affordable way of gaining entry
into single-seater racing. In 2003, Asmer came runner-up in the Formula Ford
Festival at Brands Hatch. In the same year he was invited to get behind the
wheel of a Formula One racer for the first time to take a test for the BMW
WilliamsF1 Team. From 2004 on he competed in Formula 3. 2007 saw him dominate
the British F3 International Series with Silverstone based Hitech Racing, which
he won with a commanding 11 wins and two further podium places, joining an
impressive roll of honour which includes Ayrton Senna, Sir Jackie Stewart,
Nelson Piquet, Emmerson Fittipaldi and Mika Hakkinen.
2004
British F3 Champion Nelson Piquet Jnr will race the season for the ING Renault
F1 team alongside double world champion Fernando Alonso, while 2006 British F3
Champion Mike Conway is a test driver for Honda Racing F1. 2005 Champion Alvaro
Parente took the World Series by Renault title in 2007 and tested for Renault F1
as part of his prize. Former BF3 champions Rubens Barrichello (1991) and Takumo
Sato (2001) are also due to line up on the F1 grid in Australia on 16 March.
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