Hearn Motorsports Continues Formula BMW Rookie Season Momentum Into Denver

DENVER, August 8, 2006 � Hearn Motorsports, a 2005 winner in the Star Mazda Series, enters the penultimate round of its rookie season in the Formula BMW USA Series this weekend with the Grand Prix of Denver. The two race weekend, rounds 11 and 12 of the 14 event season, brings the second street venue in as many races following the July 29 and 30 San Jose, Calif. events. Lessons learned in California have begun to build momentum for the team owned by open wheel standout Richie Hearn (Henderson, Nev.) and are expected to benefit the team in Colorado. The Las Vegas-based operation will compete at the 1.65-mile, nine-turn temporary course through the “Mile High” roads of downtown Denver with season long drivers Jules Duc (Los Gatos, Calif.) piloting the No. 12 Duc Housing Partners/Hearn Motorsports BMW and Ryan Phinny (Carmel Valley, Calif.) racing the No. 16 Baja Cantina/Hearn Motorsports BMW.“At some of these races, though the results weren't there, we made changes that helped the cars,” said Hearn. “Those changes have given us some momentum behind the scenes. Now we have a better car to start the weekend with. Hopefully, that will help us qualify better. We are working to get the results to finish the season on a high note. The drivers are doing well at different points during the weekend and we are working to maintain that and grow it throughout the full weekend.”A strong indication of that progress of the drivers has come in the most recent rounds dating back to the United States Grand Prix weekend at Indianapolis. However, it was the San Jose event that team engineer Tim Neff and Hearn seemed to make the greatest in-roads with the young driver pairing.“Jules ran well at San Jose,” offered Hearn who brings his years of experience and success not only to the management side of the team but also as a driving coach to his young talent. “He was driving aggressively there. He was doing really well and was trying really hard. We're hoping he'll carry that onto Denver and keep growing it there. With Ryan we improved the car. So we'll start there. He learns the tracks really quickly. I believe he can win every time he gets in the car; he races really well. We just need to have him get better starts. These races are so short you have to be charging from the drop of the green flag.”With one race weekend remaining on the 2006 Formula BMW USA Series schedule after Denver- the Grand Prix of Mosport on September 1-3 in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada- Hearn is looking ahead to the Formula BMW World Finals. The three-day weekend brings the best and the brightest teams to Valencia, Spain, November 24-26 and Hearn Motorsports has entered three cars. The international event at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo offers Hearn a chance to compare his team with the more established Formula BMW teams from every national series. “We're starting to prep for Valencia,” remarked Hearn. “We're planning to take all three cars so we have one available and we're talking to people. It should be a great experience for our team and for the drivers. You get to see what the rest of the world is doing and where you stack-up.”Practice for the two events will be held on Friday, August 11 at 8 AM (MT). Qualifying for round eleven will take place at 11:45 AM Friday. Qualifying for round twelve will begin at 8 AM on Saturday. The first race will follow later on Saturday at 12:15 PM, August 12. The second race will take its standing start at 10:15 AM on Sunday, August 13.For more on Hearn Motorsports please visit www.HearnMotorsports.com To learn more about the Formula BMW USA Series, click on www.FormulaBMWUSA.comDuc Motorsports information is available at www.DucMotorsports.comAdditional information on Ryan Phinny can be found at www.RyanPhinnyMotorsports.com