FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15th April 2001

20-year-old Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia got off the mark in the FIA F3000 International Championship by scoring his first points in the category at the second round of the series at Imola last Saturday. The reigning British Formula 3 Champion just missed out on a podium by coming home fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix support race. He made a first-class start in his Petrobras Junior Team Lola to rise from seventh on the grid and held fourth all the way from the first corner of the opening lap. 

Imola is notoriously difficult for overtaking which makes qualifying and the start of the race vital. Pizzonia encountered a lot of yellow flags in both sessions resulting with seventh on the grid. He made up for it with a flying start. He passed first round winner Justin Wilson away from the line, then Giorgio Pantano at the first corner to take fourth, then Pizzonia pulled off a great move around the outside to pass Patrick Friesacher.

"I knew the start would be really important. I had been unlucky in qualifying because there were yellow flags all round the circuit in the last 15 minutes when I had my final set of new tyres on. But the race went well, although I did have a problem with understeer. It’s good to take some points. Three doesn’t sound many, but they will be very important at the end of the season.” 

This was Pizzonia’s first time at Imola and the result meant that he ended up the best of the new drivers in this year’s championship and from the top four finishers he was the youngest by at least five years. With the understeer Pizzonia was suffering from the car, there were no opportunities to move into a podium position. 

Petrobras team boss Paul Jackson said: “Antonio made a great start and drove a really good race - very mature. From where he started, this was just about the best result we could have hoped for. Overtaking at Imola is a case of do-or-die and the drivers usually tangle if they try. You have to be certain a move will work before you give it a go and Antonio did everything he possibly could today.” 

The third round of the championship is on the Saturday of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona on April 28. 

www.antoniopizzonia.net
For further information please contact Carl Gerrish at Allstar International on (07798) 682588 or (01327) 855535