Formula BMW
| Formula BMW | |
|---|---|
| Category | Single seaters |
| Active | 1998–2013 |
| Country/region | International |
| Championships |
Europe Pacific |
| Former Championships |
Asia Germany United Kingdom United States |
| Constructor | Mygale |
| Engine supplier | BMW |
| Last Drivers' Champions |
 Robin Hansson (Talent Cup)
|
Formula BMW was a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It was positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category. Like Formula Ford, it was intended to function as the young kart racing graduate's first experience of car racing.
The new formula was created by BMW Motorsport in 2001, with the first of its championships being inaugurated in Germany in 2002. Selected competitors from each series meet in the World Final at the end of each season, with the promise of a Formula One test for the winner.
From 2011 onwards BMW ceased to support the Pacific and Europe series, in favour of the Formula BMW Talent Cup. The Talent Cup, which was the final Formula BMW championship in existence, ended after the 2013 season.
BMW has prior experience of junior formula racing, as a successful engine supplier in Formula Two and, more briefly, Formula Three in the 1970s. Its European F2 Championship program, which ran from 1973 to 1981, contributed to six drivers' titles in partnership with March. The company ended its participation prior to its first entry into Formula One in the 1980s.
BMW returned to the junior categories in Germany in 1991, as the engine supplier to the Formula ADAC championship. The first champion was Christian Abt. It was in 2001 that BMW decided to significantly increase its involvement in the series; ADAC remained the sanctioning body, but BMW Motorsport devised the package of regulations and commissioned the new chassis. The new formula made its debut at Hockenheim in April 2002.
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