The 2009 Formula BMW Americas season was the sixth, and final, season of the Formula BMW Americas series. The championship was contested over fourteen races at six meetings, supporting various series such as the World Touring Car Championship and the American Le Mans Series. Gabriel Chaves was the final series champion, having finished in the top three in all fourteen races. The series was cancelled on July 31, 2009 as a result of a poor economic climate (which also led to the discontinuation of BMW's Formula One outfit).
Teams and drivers All cars were Mygale FB02 chassis powered by BMW engines. Team No Driver Class Rounds EuroInternational 2 Gabriel Chaves All 5 Daniel Vela 1 Olivier Lombard 2 9 Giancarlo Vilarinho All 12 Olivier Lombard 5 42 Michael Lewis All Euro Junior Team 5 Daniel Vela 3–6 6 Wilson Philippe All Jensen MotorSport 13 Barrett Mertins All 24 Freddy Zebede 1 Autotecnica 14 Alex Ellis All 50 Gianmarco Raimondo All Team Apex 18 João Victor Horto All 19 Martin Sala All 20 James Kovacic All Robali Motorsports 21 Robert Garcia 1–4 Icon Class Rookie Cup Guest drivers ineligible to score points
Calendar Round Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team 1 R1 Autódromo Miguel E. Abed March 21 Gabriel Chaves Gabriel Chaves Gabriel Chaves EuroInternational R2 March 22 Gabriel Chaves Alex Ellis Gabriel Chaves EuroInternational 2 R1 Virginia International Raceway April 25 Giancarlo Vilarinho Giancarlo Vilarinho Giancarlo Vilarinho EuroInternational R2 April 26 Giancarlo Vilarinho Gabriel Chaves Giancarlo Vilarinho EuroInternational 3 R1 Miller Motorsports Park May 16 Giancarlo Vilarinho Giancarlo Vilarinho Giancarlo Vilarinho EuroInternational R2 May 17 Giancarlo Vilarinho Giancarlo Vilarinho Giancarlo Vilarinho EuroInternational R3 Giancarlo Vilarinho Giancarlo Vilarinho Giancarlo Vilarinho EuroInternational 4 R1 Lime Rock Park July 18 Gabriel Chaves James Kovacic Gabriel Chaves EuroInternational R2 Alex Ellis James Kovacic James Kovacic Team Apex 5 R1 Road America August 15 Giancarlo Vilarinho Alex Ellis Giancarlo Vilarinho EuroInternational R2 August 16 Giancarlo Vilarinho Giancarlo Vilarinho Gabriel Chaves EuroInternational R3 Giancarlo Vilarinho Wilson Philippe Gabriel Chaves EuroInternational 6 R1 Mosport International Raceway August 29 Gianmarco Raimondo Giancarlo Vilarinho Gianmarco Raimondo Autotecnica R2 August 30 Giancarlo Vilarinho James Kovacic Giancarlo Vilarinho EuroInternational
Standings Points were awarded as follows: Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th PP Points 20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1
Pos Driver PUE VIR MMP LRP ROA MOS Pts 1 Gabriel Chaves 1 1 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 235 2 Giancarlo Vilarinho 2 Ret 1 1 1 1 1 8 5 1 10 Ret 3 1 187 3 Ret 2 4 3 3 4 3 2 3 3 DSQ Ret 1 3 143 4 Michael Lewis 4 8 Ret 5 4 2 4 DSQ 6 6 3 3 5 4 111 5 James Kovacic 3 4 8 8 5 5 5 3 1 11 4 Ret Ret 5 102 6 Alex Ellis 9 3 3 6 6 6 6 5 10 4 DSQ 2 4 DSQ 95 7 João Victor Horto 6 7 5 7 9 7 7 7 4 5 2 5 6 6 91 8 Daniel Vela 5 5 7 DSQ 9 4 7 9 6 Ret 7 8 56 9 Martin Sala 7 Ret 6 4 8 10 11 6 Ret 8 7 7 9 7 54 10 Wilson Philippe 10 9 7 9 12 9 8 DSQ 8 10 8 6 8 9 38 11 Barrett Mertins Ret DSQ 10 DSQ 11 8 10 9 9 Ret 9 8 10 10 19 12 Freddy Zebede 8 6 9 13 Robert Garcia Ret 10 Ret 10 10 11 Ret Ret Ret 3 Guest driver ineligible for points Olivier Lombard 9 DSQ 7 5 4 0 Pos Driver PUE VIR MMP LRP ROA MOS PtsBold – PoleItalics – Fastest Lap
References
External links BMW-Motorsport.com