Racing Lines: When BMW CCA Club Racing connected with Formula BMW

Front and center at BMW of North America’s exceptional “50 Years of BMW of North America” celebration in September was a Formula BMW USA race car, parked at the head of a line of 3 Series racers. The car brought to mind the March 2008 event at Thunderhill Raceway in California, where BMW Club Racing shared the track with Formula BMW USA.

Formula BMW USA, managed by BMW NA’s Alex Schmuck, was a development series for racers who aspired to run in the professional ranks. Racers drove single-seat Mygale-chassis formula cars powered by 1,171-cc K1200 RS four-cylinder BMW motorcycle engines in the series, which ran in North America from 2004 through 2009.

Among the racers who went on to success in the pro ranks after spending time in Formula BMW USA were Tommy Milner, Robert Wickens, Graham Rahal, James Hinchcliffe, Simona de Silvestro, and Alexander Rossi, among many others. An excellent history of the series written by Jackie Jouret appeared in August as part of BMW NA’s “50 Stories for 50 years” series of press releases. It appears here.

In May 2008 the series ran a test session at Thunderhill Raceway Park in advance of its season-opener a week later at Laguna Seca. An invitation from the series, known that year as Formula BMW Americas, went out to BMW CCA Club Racing chairman Mike Mills; the result was a pair of Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Races run in conjunction with the test session.

Among the Formula BMW racers present that day was Alexander Rossi, a California native running in his second year in the series. He would go on to win the Formula BMW Americas championship that year. After moving to Europe—where he ran in a number of series, among them Formula 1—he found a home in IndyCar Racing in 2016, where he remains today. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2016—his rookie season—driving for Andretti Autosport.

The Thunderhill event brought out fifteen club racers. They would be led both days by VJ Mirzayan in his C-Modified E36 328i. In the first sprint, Mirzayan ran away from the pack, finishing ahead of I-Prepared winner Dave Lang (E36 M3) and C-Mod racer Hans Kopecky ((E46 M3). In the second sprint, Mirzayan started from the  back and worked his way through the pack, eventually catching Lang and Kopecky. The three racers staged a battle throughout the race, but in the end, the order was the same as it had been in the first sprint, with Mirzayan, Lang, and Kopecky occupying the podium.

The Formula BMW USA series ended with the 2009 season. To the best of my knowledge, the May 2008 Thunderhill event marked the only occasion when it shared the track with the Tire Rack Series.—Brian Morgan, Roundel motorsports editor

Lead photo of Formula BMW car at BMW NA in September 2025 by Brian Morgan