OCTOBER 4, 2001

Montoya praises new BMW V10

ALTHOUGH he has not driven with the engine yet, Juan-Pablo Montoya says that the new 2002 BMW V10 is going to be a step forward from this year's power unit. The current engine is thought to have around 860 horsepower and although it has not been totally reliable it is still more than a match for the current Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz units.

"It looks a lot better," said Montoya, during a press conference in his native Colombia. "It's going to be smoother and more powerful. It's going to be a really good step for us."

The new engine was being tested this week in Barcelona by Formula 3000 driver Antonio Pizzonia and Ralf Schumacher.

Montoya was in Colombia to promote BMW and visited the Tocancipa racing circuit, to the north of Bogota, where he began his racing career. Montoya hopes to encourage other Colombian youngsters to adopt the sport and took part in a demonstration race with an outstanding 10-year-old racer called Carlos Perdomo.

Print News Story