Hearn Motorsports Makes Last Minute Mosport Driver Adjustment - Ontario Native Marco Di Leo to Drive in Formula BMW Finale

BOWMANVILLE, Ont., August 30, 2006 � Hearn Motorsports will make a last minute adjustment to its driver lineup at this weekend's Formula BMW USA Series season-finale. Markham, Ontario native Marco Di Leo will race a second Hearn entry as teammate to Ryan Phinny (Carmel Valley, Calif.) at Mosport International Raceway. The track is just 20 minutes from Di Leo's home. Richie Hearn (Henderson, NV) made the agreement to run Di Leo in the No. 99 Hearn Motorsports BMW at the two-race weekend when regular team driver Jules Duc (Los Gatos, Calif.) was forced to make a last-minute cancellation from Rounds 13 and 14. Duc's No. 12 Duc Housing Partners/Hearn Motorsports BMW will not see action this weekend.“We're sorry Jules couldn't make this race due to a personal conflict,” said Hearn. “He had a good drive at Denver and I think he would have had a good race here. He likes the faster tracks and that is what this is.We're happy to be running Marco. I know his brother Dan and he is a good driver and Marco has shown that he can win races in Skip Barber. This is a home race for him and we think he'll do a good job. We're looking forward to him running upfront. Hopefully, he and Ryan will be there running in the top-five at the end.”Di Leo is currently ranked second, 20 points out of the lead, in the Skip Barber National point standings with four races remaining in 2006. This will be Di Leo's first race in the Formula BMW USA Series. This is the first season in which Hearn, himself a standout professional open wheel racer, has entered a team in Formula BMW. It is the team's three year history it competed in the Star Mazda series in 2004 and 2005. Hearn entries have captured one victory, two podiums and one pole position at the famous Canadian track.Ryan Phinny will be fighting for his second podium finish of the season in the No. 16 Baja Cantina/Hearn Motorsports BMW at Mosport. Phinny earned the first Formula BMW podium for Hearn Motorsports in Denver at Round 12. He and Di Leo will have two opportunities this weekend at the 2.549-mile, 10-turn track to add to the successful rookie season. Testing for Mosport begins on Thursday, August 31, while the first official practice for the two events will be held on Friday, September 1 at 10:05 AM (ET). Qualifying for Round 13 will take place at 3:55 PM, Friday. Qualifying for the final 30-minute race will begin at 9:35 AM on Saturday. Round 13 will take place on Saturday at 4:25 PM. The season-finale, Round 14, takes the green flag at 1:20 PM, Sunday, September 3.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