Longfield, Kent, England (May 18, 2012) — Michael Lewis is starting strong during his race weekend at Brands Hatch as he qualified 4th fastest for the Formula 3 Euro Series today.

The American racer’s fastest time of 41.235 seconds during the 30-minute qualifying session at the 1.929-kilometer Brands Hatch Indy circuit allows him to start Saturday’s Race 1 and Sunday’s Race 3 in 4th on the starting grid. Race 2’s starting order will be determined by an invert of the top-eight finishing positions from Race 1.

“I’m very pleased with this starting position for Races 1 and 3,” said Michael Lewis. “The PREMA Powerteam cars are fast this weekend as three of the four cars are in the top-four qualifying positions. I’m looking forward to making a good start during tomorrow’s first race and earn some valuable points in the series’ championship.”

Eighteen drivers will compete in Rounds 4, 5 and 6 of the 2012 F3 Euro Series event at the famed English race track. After recording a top-10 finish at last weekend’s FIA F3 Championship event at the Pau Grand Prix, Michael next attended the FIA Driver’s Academy workshop in Vienna. From there, he arrived in England early Thursday morning.

“I felt good about my performance at the Pau Grand Prix,” said Michael. “I enjoyed being with my FIA Driver’s Academy colleagues this past week in Vienna and now my focus is on doing my very best here at Brands Hatch. The PREMA Powerteam cars have been fast at every place we have been so far this season, so it is my job to work hard and take advantage of the PREMA Powerteam engineering. We should do well this weekend.”

Free Practice

The 60-minute practice session began this morning promptly at 10:25 a.m. with all 18 of the F3 Euro drivers going out onto the track. Michael ran 59 laps during the session and was ranked on the time charts between P-9 and P-11. With just a few moments before the conclusion of the session, Michael ran his best lap of the session when he recorded a time of 41.738, which placed him P-7. Michael’s PREMA Powerteam teammate Daniel Juncadella recorded the fastest lap of the session at 41.306. The PREMA Powerteam drivers took four of the first seven positions for the free practice session.

“Our PREMA Powerteam cars are fast and there are a bunch of drivers just hundredths apart,” said Michael. “Now I will review the data during my debriefing session with my engineer Cosimo as we make a plan for qualifying.”

Michael will again compete this weekend in the K&N Engineering, Eibach Springs PREMA Powerteam Mercedes-powered Dallara F-312. Rounds 4 and 6 of this weekend will also earn points toward the FIA European Formula 3 Championship where Michael is currently ranked 10th after scoring points in both races at the Pau Grand Prix last weekend.

The 40-minute Race 1 of this weekend’s F3 Euro Series events will take place Saturday morning beginning at 11 a.m. local time (3 a.m. PDT/ 6 a.m. EDT). Race 2 will be 20 minutes long and will take place on Saturday afternoon beginning at 4:35 p.m. local time (8:35 a.m. PDT/11:35 a.m. EDT). While the 40-minute Race 3 will take place on Sunday, starting at 10:50 a.m. local time (2:50 a.m. PDT/5:50 a.m. EDT). Live timing and scoring can be viewed under the “live timing” icon at www.f3euroseries.com.

Michael Lewis’ 2012 sponsor lineup includes Eibach Springs, K&N Engineering, GoPro, Electric Sunglasses, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, Cometic Gasket, Bell Helmets, Braille Battery, Wiissa, CMNTY Clothing and Performance Racing Industry.

Brands Hatch Qualifying

1. Daniel Juncadella – Prema Powerteam – 40.887
2. Raffaelle Marciello – Prema Powerteam – 41.159
3. Will Buller – Carlin – 41.174
4. Michael Lewis – Prema Powerteam – 41.235
5. Carlos Sainz Jr – Carlin – 41.244
6. Pascal Wehrlein – Mucke Motorsport – 41.338
7. Jazeman Jaafar – Carlin – 41.352
8. Felix Rosenqvist – Mucke Motorsport – 41.369
9. Harry Tincknell – Carlin – 41.387
10. Sven Muller -Prema Powerteam – 41.392
11. Tom Blomqvist – ma-con Motorsport – 41.488
12. Fahmi Ilyas – Double R Racing – 41.745
13. Andrea Roda – Jo Zeller Racing – 41.806
14. Emil Bernstorff – ma-con Motorsport – 41.818
15. Lucas Wolf – URD Rennsport – 41.965
16. Luis Sa Silva – Angola Racing Team – 41.985
17. Geoff Uhrhane – Double R Racing – 41.996
18. Sandro Zeller – Jo Zeller Racing – 42.345