Mark Webber took his Super Nova Lola to fourth place in the rain-affected eighth round of the FIA Formula 3000 Championship at Silverstone. It was his fifth points finish of the season and it keeps him hot on the heels of series leader Justin Wilson (Coca-Cola Nordic Racing) with just four of the 12 races to run.

The highly-rated young Australian admitted, however, that he had been expecting a little bit more at the circuit where last season he had scored his maiden FIA F3000 success.

"I came to Silverstone with high hopes," he said, "because I love this track and have traditionally done well here. In the end, however, we just didn't quite have the car to run at the front."

Webber lined up fourth after failing to find an ideal chassis balance in qualifying trim. He said: "The car felt pretty good in the first session, when we ran on a drying track, and I was always in the top two. In the second session we couldn't quite nail a set-up that was spot on. I didn't have total confidence in the car, which is unusual, but it still looked as though I would get third until the final few seconds, when one of the other guys went quicker and pushed back one place. In the circumstances, I didn't think fourth was too bad."

In the rush to the first corner Webber briefly passed third-fastest qualifier Sébastien Bourdais (DAMS), but the Frenchman fought back and reclaimed his position as he and Webber ran side-by-side into Copse Corner. "The start of the race was pretty tough," Webber said, "because the balance still wasn't quite right and I lost quite a bit of time during the opening few laps. I had quite a fight keeping the car on track once or twice, so I knew I had to be prudent because I didn't want to throw everything away and come away with no points.

"At about half-distance I could see clouds looming overhead and I was quietly hoping for some serious rain. If we had all had to pit for wet tyres it might have turned the race on its head and given us a chance. Although the track became very slippery when the drizzle started, however, there was never any question of running wet tyres. A couple of the others tried it and were well off the pace."

With three laps to go, Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia (Petrobras Junior) relegated Webber to fifth, although Mark reclaimed fourth in the final few yards because Czech driver Tomas Enge, who had been running third, lost his engine as he exited the final corner and thus had to coast to the line.

"When I saw Pizzonia catching I knew he was in good shape in the partly wet conditions," he said. "I didn't try too hard to keep him back, because there was no point risking a crash that close to the end. Besides, he was going so quickly that I thought he might cause a few problems for the guys ahead.

"I would describe this as an average race. I didn't enjoy it that much because I felt unable to challenge the guys right at the front, but at least we came away from the weekend with something. After winning the last two it's inevitable that a result like this would feel like an anti-climax, but I am well aware that you can't win every time. Everyone who knows me will be aware that this will just make me all the more determined to do well in the next race, which takes place later this month at Hockenheim."

Webber will test for Super Nova at the end of this week at Spa, Belgium, and can focus on his F3000 title challenge in the short term because he has no immediate commitments to the Benetton Renault Sport Formula One team, for whom he works as test and reserve driver.

"I think we can do well in the next few races," he said. "I finished third at Hockenheim last year and I absolutely love Budapest, Spa and Monza, which follow. The championship is still absolutely wide open and I intend to get back to the top of the podium sooner rather than later."

Bourdais went on to score his maiden FIA F3000 win at Silverstone, from Wilson and Pizzonia. The gap between the championship's top two is now four points, while Enge is a further five behind Webber.

FIA F3000 Championship points: