Marko Asmer??!?

Any news about the Estonian driver? Will he race in 2008 or only be BMW Sauber tester? Another talent out of the competitions?

What's going on with British motorsport? As well as the F3 Uk 07 champion, also the F.Renault 2000 UK champion, Duncan Tappy, seems to find some difficulties in going on with his career...

In Italy, F3 champion (Nocera) is in GP2, F3000 champion (Rigon) has found a likely free seat in Superleague...

hopefully he can grab the last seat available in WSR with Fortec...

Doubtful, he hasn't even tested any GP2 or WSR cars, so i guess he wont race in 2008 and does only Bauers Mist Wagen Sauber testing...

I think being second test driver in the current F1 Constructors Championship leader is better than race in "Superleague" or in GP2 with BCN

Superleague? Could do that ...

Have to also add Callum MacLeod to drivers who aren't driving anywhere... shame to see him vanish off the face of the earth.

Superleague? Could do that ...

Why bother?

I can only imagine there must be some ulterior motive to Asmer's career path, as I don't think BMW will sit back and let him suffer as a test driver. I just have no idea what plan they probably have for him - I really thought they'd have tried to get him into WSR, just to keep him race ready.

LMS or TCC project? Maybe they will pay for his one-offs in STCC or DTCC with BMW teams?! Anyway, do you remember James Rossiter or Ant Davidson? Honda didn't pay for any other project than F1 testing (acc. to my mem.)... may be same with Klien and Asmer?

In Similar Threads, down at the bottom of the page, there is one called Who the heck is Marko Asmer?...... dating back to 2003. It makes quite an amusing read nearly five years later... ;)

BMW don't really seem to be into funding their young drivers in other categories, unfortunately, so I doubt if Marko will have a race programme this year unless they can find a touring car drive for him somewhere.

Why bother?

Decent single seaters.

Who mentioned tintops? Second BMW Dealer Team car in BTCC?

Well, let's face reality.

This year all the F1 teams get an extra 5000km (I think) for a rookie driver. So that's the main reason BMW signed Asmer. Klien is the actual test driver. He's the guy going to the races (so far) and the official reserver. Asmer will get some mileage later in the year, and maybe they'll put him in WSR, but at the moment he's there for the extra mileage and if he turns out to be a superstar that's just a bonus.

That's why Honda signed Filippi, but Wurz is their tester. Renault are using Grosjean, but di Grassi is the guy doing the real work.

Its a shame because Glock and Vettel raced last year and Asmer has lots of potential

Glock and Vettel had their own money though, so BMW would have put in very little if any at all.

Exactly. It's the reverse situation here, because Asmer has very little money if any at all.

hope asmer considers to get back to f3. he needs to win macau gp to prove himself he has the speed. come again please

A while ago on another motorsport forum, an Estonian guy mentioned that Asmer was possibly looking at Euroseries 3000 for 2008. I suppose that could be a possibility, although as the championship starts next weekend he would have to sign a pretty late deal in order to take part.

Lam Pak, he doesn't need to prove anything, guy won British series, he needs to further his career not come back to F3. WSR Fan, ES3000 is a waist of time, look at Danielsson...

Russfeld, I wouldn't be surprised if Di Grassi was only seat filler in case Grosjean cannot test because of his GP2 commintments. I see Grosjean as number 1 tester. The question is, why did they sign Yamamoto? Extra budget to afford Alonso's services?

I don't think that Danielsson experience in ES3000 can be a good example: maybe he was demotivated or there could have been other reasons, but he did a lot of mistakes... I remember him completely missing a start when he was on pole...

Concerning Asmer, I don't think is good for any F1 tester to sit down and spend an year without racing... if he has a chance in ES3000 that would be for sure better, and F3000 is a better training then F3.

Anyway the season will start this week end... so I think is quite unlikely...

Let's w8 and see how many starters we'll have on the ES3000 grids this year, I cannot agree with 'F3000 is better training then F3', because it is not, not these days.

To be honest I think to take part in International Series is better than stay home and watch the races on TV, specially if you don't have great budget to invest...

To be honest Danielsson made two major mistakes when he's finished his FR3.5 campaign, career devestating mistakes, first one exhibition rather than proper F1 test and then Elk Motorsport contract to do ES3000. To b honest with you he had chances, STCC or Carrera Cup Scandinavia with his own team... but also come back to fr3.5 if he had no money for GP2, Japan route... He chose for ES3000... bad move.

I agree with most of the points you make Alex, although I think one of the factors with Danielsson was that his WSR title was only confirmed at the end of January '07. If the title had been decided at Barcelona the previous October then he probably would have had a full-blown Renault F1 test in November/December of 2006.

We all know that it was after his F1 test that Kubica was snapped up by BMW, and if Alx had made a decent impression during his then who knows, he might have been offered further F1 test chances down the line or attracted more offers from GP2 teams/potential sponsors etc.

Going back to Asmer, we saw Adrian Valles take a year off from racing in 2007 (when he was an occasional tester for Spyker) and then come back to a decent GP2 seat for 2008, so we just have to hope Marko follows a similar path because he is clearly a very talented driver.

This is big chance for Asmer to further his career path. He doesn't have decent budget, BMW, whatever their intention was when they signed him, can help him to fulfill his ambitions. I doubt he'll get many chances behind F1 car, but if he can snatch TCC drive, or, still virtual, LMS BMW Motorsport drive this would be awsome.

WSR Fan, I cannot confirm it, but I've heard Alx had chance to do one day test with Renault during 2007 or after the season was completed, and he still opted for exhibition, well that's history.

Adrian Valles has good Spanish sponsors behind him... Anyway many National Champions have lost their way in last years, drivers like Kubica, Hamilton, Rosberg are very rare and it is difficult to repeat their careers

here we go ... Asmer in Euro3000 with TP Motorsport on italiaracing

Is it full season admission? :-O

BTW. What about Rodriguez' aspirations? No to FR3.5, only GP2... and ES3000 :-)

He's only signed up for the first round at Vallelunga so far and he's looking to secure the budget for the rest of the season (I'd have thought BMW might give him a little helping hand there perhaps?).

If he does sign up for the full season then he must be considered as one of the front-runners, although with a lack of testing and a new car to learn I think the title is a little too much to ask. That IMO will go to Luiz Razia.

If he performs well though it might just be the springboard he needs to land a World Series drive or even a GP2 seat in 2009 (sponsorship permitting of course).

Man, does any1 know how many days he'll get in BMW F1.08?

At least he's keeping up some race mileage then, but deary me a driver of his quality shouldn't be tooling about in 3000?!!!!

Russfeld, I wouldn't be surprised if Di Grassi was only seat filler in case Grosjean cannot test because of his GP2 commintments. I see Grosjean as number 1 tester. The question is, why did they sign Yamamoto? Extra budget to afford Alonso's services?
I think you've got that the wrong way around - Grosjean has his name down as tester because he is the top RDD driver, but he will do almost no mileage during the season because he is racing in GP2, whereas di Grassi will get a tonne of miles because he has nothing else to do. Certainly that's what is happening at the moment.

Yamamoto is all about the budget - he'll have a couple of exhibition drives, but nothing more than that.

Gez, Jackman, where've you been? ;-)

Not a bad effort I have to say from Asmer on his first day of Euroseries 3000 testing, considering the car and circuit (Vallelunga) are both new to him.

1 - Fabio Onidi – GP Racing - 1’24’’563 – 66 laps
2 - Roldan Rodriguez – GP Racing - 1’24’’657 – 68
3 - Nicolas Prost – ELK Motorsport - 1’24’’787 – 64
4 - Luiz Razia – ELK Motorsport - 1’24’’915 – 77
5 - Marko Asmer – TP Formula - 1’25’’512 – 77
6 - Fabio Beretta – ELK Motorsport - 1’25’’621 – 55
7 - Omar Leal – Durango – 1’25'625 – 61
8 - Francesco Dracone – Emmebi Motorsport - 1’26’’334 – 53
9 - Juan Ramon Zapata – Emmebi Motorsport 1’28’’055 – 57
10 - Matteo Cozzari – De Villota Motorsport - 1’28’’277 – 24

As I said earlier in the thread, if he does the full season I don't think he will quite win the title, but I wouldn't bet against him taking a few wins during the course of the season.

Vallelunga – Prove libere 1
1 Nicolas Prost – Cerveza Sol - ELK Motorsport 1’26’’091 – 16
2 Roldan Rodriguez – GP Racing 1’26’’118 – 14 giri
3 Fabio Onidi – GP Racing 1’26’’188 – 14 giri
4 Luiz Razia – Cerveza Sol - ELK Motorsport 1’26’’353 – 15 giri
5 Asmer Marko – TP Formula 1’26’’642 – 14 giri
6 Fabio Beretta - Q8 OILS/HACHE - ELK Motorsport 1’27’’278 – 14 giri
7 Omar Leal – Durango – 1’27’'319 – 12 giri
8 Francesco Dracone – Emmebi Motorsport 1’27’’591 – 16 giri
9 Matteo Cozzari – Emilio De Villota Motorsport 1’28’’840 – 13 giri
10 Juan Ramon Zapata – Emmebi Motorsport 1’29’’039 – 5 giri

I hope Prost shows well and get gp2 seat in 2009. But 10 cars in series - so weak.

It's strange. Quite a few teams that lodged entries for this season are missing from Vallelunga (notably IT Loox Racing, Scuderia Playteam, Autosport Racing, G-Tec, 2GRacing and PSR Motorsport).

Hopefully some of them will appear at Spa at the beginning of June because 10 cars is a pretty mediocre grid.

It's been known for some time, from first preseason tests that entry list doesn't look good. That's why I questioned number of participants in my post on the 14th of April. It looked sad from Day 1 of preseason testing, no more than 13 cars. That's why it's a waste of money and time.

Asmer is getting closer in the second free practice, five driver can aim at the pole today (Onidi also...)

1 5 PROST N. 1'25.828
2 1 RODRIGUEZ R. 1'25.851
3 14 ASMER M. 1'25.961
4 6 RAZIA L. 1'26.055
5 7 LEAL O.J. 1'26.470
6 4 BERETTA ROSSI F. 1'26.663
7 11 DRACONE F. 1'27.323
8 19 COZZARI M. 1'28.066
9 12 ZAPATA J.R. 1'28.408
10 2 ONIDI F. no time

Guys, just want to remind you all that there is a specific 3000 series thread already up and running:

http://www.ten-tenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102299

if you want to discuss the general series please post in that thread and keep this one to discussing Marko's career.

Cheers
chunty

Rigon replaced Asmer in TP Formula at Spa and got the pole ahead of Maldonado (not present in Vallelunga)... much better than the 4th place on the grid of Asmer at the first round... experience makes the difference...

Asmer is rumoured to get the Free seat at FMSI in GP2

I'm not convinced by Asmer. He seems to use the Sospiri Method - win a Championship after all the good drivers have moved up a series.

Asmer is rumoured to get the Free seat at FMSI in GP2
Replacing who? Well, good for himbut it doesn't make much sense in him replacing Carroll...

yes Caroll , Asmer is running this Afternoon for FMSI today at Castellet for GP2 Test

Don't think Carroll has the funds - how many times have those words appeared over the last couple of years!

Asmer was slowest today, but in fairness its a car he hasn't driven, did just 15 laps (compared to about 35 for everyone else) and wasn't all that far behind those in front of him. A couple of days could see him climb to mid-field status at least.

But Asmer doesn't seem to have funds too?!

Marko Asmer has got the drive for the rest of the season, replacing Adam Carroll who was only replacing/filling in at Instanbul & Monaco for Adrian Valles who went to BCN...

Makes sense for Asmer to be in GP2 doesnt it :rolleyes: - after all, he is the British F3 Champion...

Maybe BMW are helping out with the purse strings...

Maybe BMW has decided to invest to give him some training...

I think BMW saw what happened to Piquet after a years 'testing' ;)

Maybe BMW wants rid of him...

Why waste money on giving him a seat then...

Maybe BMW think Bobby K's off somewhere and want Marko to be in as better series as possible (GP2 is better than ES3000 as it runs at F1 tracks) because they want him to be in F1 next year?

Why waste money on giving him a seat then...
We don't know they're paying for his ride yet. He can however get that Baltic demographic nailed.

I am pretty sure BMW doesn't pay the bill, but it's good for him, better than seatting at home and doing nothing, er... sorry 'testing' BMW F1.08. I hope BMW will give him a chance next year with one of their WTCC programmes, he's worth attention, and I do not want him to end up like vd Merwe and Hynes.

http://gp2.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/06/10/asmer-joins-gp2-series/ -> "My sincere thanks to the FMS team and I also owe this one in a big way to my Norwegian sponsor Explora Capital, my management team and my father Toivo."

marco,s doing gp2 at the mo

you pay, you drive...

And, by the way, is he really SIGNED has a bmw official test driver?

That's a question hotwheels ;-).

Seeing Asmer struggling in qualifying highlights how difficult is to jump straight in GP2 even if you are a top F3 driver, even if you have some F1 testing experience.

you cannot juge him like that, he had a long cut during winter season , he did not drive for a while, then also you have to consider that other drivers in GP2 have much more running time in a GP2 car than him, as well as FMSI is not the best team of the field.

I think for him the best is to keep the wheels on the track and do as much mileage as he can to prepare maybe a full GP2 season in 2009...

actually i didn't judge him or anything, i am just pointing out how difficult it is to join gp2 midseason no matter how good you are.

...so it was better for him to keep training in F3000, wasting less money and especially with his performances live broadcasted in all EUrope.

Moreover how can BMW F1 allow him to drive a car with Force India livery?

Marc Gene and Christian Klien drove Peugeots in last weeks Le Mans.

...so it was better for him to keep training in F3000, wasting less money and especially with his performances live broadcasted in all EUrope.

Moreover how can BMW F1 allow him to drive a car with Force India livery?


Probably because BMW aren't in the airline or lager business so what do they care? Worst case scenario is he's mentioned randomly in India as the BMW test driver, and I can't see them nixing that bit of PR.

they should invite marko asmer to race again macau f3 as they did with senna last year.he limped on with the wounded tyre until it finally gave way to win in macau last year. he is quick and he needs to win macau gp to be someone.

Geezez m8, he is someone, what's win in Macao got to do with being someone in your opinion?

he was always quick in macau but never won. he should kill his duck

his name isnt on the entry list this year! looks like us asmer fans will just have to wait to see him race again