SAO PAULO, BRAZIL, March 30, 2002 - European Minardi drivers, David Saelens
and Alex Sperafico didn't make the chequered flag at today's opening round
of the 2002 FIA International F3000 Championship at the Interlagos circuit,
but the Ledbury, UK-based squad came away from the event encouraged by its
performance in Brazil.  Without the benefit of pre-season testing, the team
nonetheless quickly got to grips with this season's new F3000 chassis and
Saelens found himself running in the top 10 during today's race until he was
forced to retire on lap 25 with a suspected differential-induced handling
problem.  Sperafico, making his F3000 debut, also put in a competent race
performance until he was sidelined on lap nine after a collision with
another competitor.

DAVID SAELENS                                        Position  DNF Fastest
lap  1 min 28.844 secs
"I gained five places at the start, which was great, but I soon found that I
just couldn't keep up with the guys in front.  Part of the problem was that
the engine was on the rev limiter by the middle of the straight, but then
the car started to oversteer, possibly the result of a differential problem.
Eventually, it got so bad I had no choice but to stop.  Still, the new car
feels good, and I am sure that once some small problems are sorted out, we'
ll be competitive."

ALEX SPERAFICO                                      Position  DNF Fastest
lap  1 min 30.259 secs
"I made a good start but then, after a few laps, the engine in my car
started to hit the rev limiter early and therefore the performance down the
straights was badly affected.  After that, I knew there was no real chance
to challenge for a good position, so I decided just to keep going and gain
some useful mileage in the car.  Unfortunately, (Ryan) Briscoe tried to come
down the inside in a corner where it is not usual to pass here at Interlagos
and we touched wheels. The impact bent the steering and there was no chance
to continue.  I hope we will have better luck at Imola because I want to
finish races and get lots of track time."

RICHARD SALISBURY, Team Principal, European Minardi F3000

"We always knew this was likely to be a character-building weekend, simply
because we didn't have the opportunity to carry out any pre-season testing,
unlike most of the other teams.  Still, we have learned a useful amount
about the new F3000 chassis here in Brazil, and we were encouraged by the
fact David held a top-10 position for much of the race.  Alex was doing a
solid job in his first-ever F3000 race until he was involved in incident
with another competitor that damaged the steering arm of his car.  We'll
take the lessons learned from this weekend and aim to have a more
competitive outing in Imola, in two weeks' time."

- Ends -

For information contact
            Graham Jones
            European Minardi F3000
            Tel: INT +44 (0)1531 638105
            Fax: INT +44 (0)1531 634525
            Mob: INT +44 (0)7767 301303

For more team information and the latest photos, visit www.euroav.com