FIA INTERNATIONAL FORMULA 3000 ROUND 5, QUALIFYING AT MONACO

25th May 2001

The two Brazilian drivers of Ricardo Sperafico and Antonio Pizzonia had yet another new circuit to learn for round five of the championship and this time it was at the challenging street circuit of Monaco.  During the first session Ricardo spun off the track at one of the corners and the marshall's had to push him away to clear him from a dangerous area and because he had received assistance he had to return to the pits and take no further part in the first session which unfortunately meant he lost about 20 minutes of running time.

Due to this he fell to twenty third by the end of the session meanwhile Antonio who had got up to seventh with three minutes of the session remaining, fell to twelfth by the end of the session. The second session was hampered by numerous yellow flags but Ricardo drove extremely well and was up to fifth quickest with just over twenty minutes remaining but had dropped to seventh by the end of the session but this is still a very good result for his first time here.  Unfortunately Antonio could not find a clear lap without yellow flags or traffic and although he improved his time finished the session in fifteenth place overall.  However his fastest lap was later disqualified because of a similar incident to Ricardo's.  He also spun off during the second session and was helped back on the track by the marshall's but the team did not see this on the monitor and because he did not return to the pits he unfortunately incurred a penalty.

Antonio Pizzonia 1:31.016 (P17)

"I had a lot of problems with traffic and yellow flags today so I just couldn't do a proper lap.  Qualifying is everything here as it is impossible to overtake, so we'll just have to see what happens tomorrow."

Ricardo Sperafico 1:30.434 (P7)

"Unfortunately in the first session I spun off and the marshall's pushed me so I had to go into the pits and lost more than half of the first session. Then in second session I learnt a bit more about the circuit and it was possible to improve my time.  But at the end of the session, it was impossible to improve further as everyone wanted to get a clear lap and
push harder and lots of people crashed when trying to make a good time.  I am very happy, the car and the team worked well and for my first time in Monaco I think it is a good position because it is a hard track to drive at, I hope I can make a good start as it is not possible to overtake here."

Team Manager - Paul Jackson 

"In the first session it was the normal situation at Monaco, the track is quite dirty so you have to take care not to make mistakes and both drivers were learning the track.  Unfortunately Ricardo had a spin and received a push from the marshall's so when he came into the pits we had to end his session there in order not to receive a penalty.  This meant he only had eleven laps.  The same thing happened to Antonio, but we did not see it on the monitors so when he came into the pits we did not realise that he had received assistance so after the session we were notified and he subsequently lost his best lap time as a result.

In the second session, Ricardo did a fantastic job and was running fifth for a long time, but right at the end there were a lot of accidents and he could not get a clear lap to improve further, nevertheless he's in a very good position for the race.  Antonio's second session just did not happen for him.  He had no particular problems other than traffic and yellow flags which prevented him getting a clear lap and then he loss of his best time made it a particularly difficult session, but knowing Antonio ability in the race we have to be optimistic that he can improve his position."

Qualifying times are enclosed.

For further information please contact Sarah Newsum. Tel:+44 1953 882954

FIA International Formula 3000 2001
Race: Monaco, 25th May 2001
Combined Qualifying Session

Pos
Driver
Nati.on.
Team
Session1
Session2

1

M. Webber
AUS
Super Nova Racing
1:29.873
1:29.643
2

J. Wilson
GBR
Coca-Cola Nordic Racing
1:30.577
1:29.821
3

D. Manning
GBR
Arden Team Russia
1:31.144
1:30.019
4

S. Sarrazin
FRA
Prost Junior
1:30.148
1:30.037
5

S. Bourdais
FRA
DAMS
1:31.391
1:30.105
6

P. Friesacher
AUT
Red Bull Junior Team
1:30.551
1:30.375
7

R. Sperafico
BRA
Petrobras Junior Team
1:33.393
1:30.434
8

R. Mauricio
BRA
Red Bull Junior Team
1:31.150
1:30.486
9

T. Enge
CZE
Coca-Cola Nordic Racing
1:30.509
1:31.577
10

F. Gollin
ITA
Coloni
1:31.405
1:30.673
11

M. Haberfeld
BRA
Super Nova Racing
1:31.505
1:30.692
12

R. Sperafico
BRA
Coloni
1:32.061
1:30.697
13

B. Leinders
BEL
KTR
1:31.597
1:30.846
14

A. Piccini
ITA
European Minardi
1:31.597
1:30.846
15

D. Saelens
BEL
European Minardi
1:31.448
1:30.860
16

J. Melo
BRA
Durango Formula
1:32.433
1:30.929
17

A. Pizzonia
BRA
Petrobras Junior Team
1:31.432
1:31.016
18

D. Morelli
GBR
Team Astromega
1:31.111
1:31.346
19

J. Camathias
SUI
KTR
1:32.936
1:31.572
20

G. Lancieri
ITA
Durango Formula
1:32.575
1:31.582
21

D. Hill
USA
DAMS
1:32.651
1:32.023
22

G. Varano
ITA
Prost Junior
1:32.864
1:32.041
23

G. Pantano
ITA
Team Astromega
1:32.807
1:32.259
24

V. Maslov
RUS
Arden Team Russia
1:33.428
1:32.399

Fastest lap for Antonio Pizzonia disallowed as per stewards decision no.9