Born on July 30th, 1984 in Tallinn, Estonia, Marko is the son of former racing driver Toivo Asmer, who became the Minister of Regional Affairs in 1999, a post that he retired form in 2003. Marko has developed strong links with BMW and currently tests for the team alongside Christian Klien. Asmer became the first Estonian to drive a Formula One car in 2003 when he tested for Williams at just 19 years of age.
Early Career
Marko Asmer started racing at a young age, inspired by his father he got into karting at age eleven and enjoyed success on four wheels right up to 2003 when he progressed into single seaters. That year saw Asmer join the JLR team in British Formula Ford, and the Estonian also participated in two races in the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup. 2003 also saw Asmer test a Williams BMW, becoming the first Estonian to drive a Formula One car.
By 2004 Marko was in British Formula Three with the HiTech Racing team. In his debut season Marko finished in tenth, but improved significantly the following year and ended the season in fourth place. For 2006 Asmer moved to Japan to try Japanese Formula Three. He was signed to the Three Bond team and the Estonian did well to finish in seventh. However, the call of British F3 was too much and Marko returned in 2007 to compete once again for the HiTech team.
By the end of 2007 Asmer was crowned the British Formula Three champion and his name became a regular among the F1 paddock. In early 2008 Asmer had been announced as the junior test driver for BMW, working alongside Christian Klien and drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica.
Marko competed in part of the GP2 series in 2008, only getting the occasional chance to drive the BMW Formula One car. Competing with FMS International (part owned by Giancarlo Fisichella), Marko’s best result was eleventh at the French event’s sprint race.
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