Mark Webber's game bid to become the first Australian driver to lift the FIA Formula 3000 Championship came to an end at Spa, Belgium, on Saturday. Needing to win to have any chance of pipping Englishman Justin Wilson (Coca-Cola Nordic Racing) to the crown, Webber ran off the track on the second lap and slammed into the barriers at the circuit's notorious Eau Rouge corner. Although his Lola chassis was destroyed, Mark escaped with nothing worse than a ligament injury to the knee.

"I really haven't had chance to work out exactly what happened," he said. "I was halfway up the hill that leads out of the corner when I felt the car begin to slide. It is possible that the chassis bottomed out as I went through Eau Rouge and caused me to lose control, but I really can't be sure because it all happened so quickly. After that I was just a passenger. I knew it was going to be a big impact, so I just kept my head down and braced myself."

The car crossed a gravel trap before striking the barriers rear-end first and flying through the air. Despite pain in his right leg, Webber was able to release himself swiftly and the race continued behind the Safety Car while the wreckage was cleared away. Mark was taken to hospital in nearby Verviers for a precautionary X-ray that revealed he had no broken bones.

"Doctors have told me to rest for a bit," he said, "but I'll be able to keep in shape by doing stuff that doesn't put any strain on my leg. I keep myself in good shape and one of the benefits of that is that my body tends to recuperate quickly if I get a knock. I won't do anything that might compromise my recovery, but if I feel fit to drive I'll certainly go right ahead. Whatever, my next race is two weeks away and I don't see any reason at all to miss that."

Webber lined up fifth after two topsy-turvy qualifying sessions that were seriously affected by rain. He was quickest in the first wet session, but failed to nail a time when the track was at its driest in the closing moments of the second. "We were totally in control of both sessions... apart from the last five minutes," he said. "The car felt great, but right at the end you needed to be in the right place on the track at the right time and we weren't. But I still thought we could win the race from fifth on the grid, because overtaking is not usually too much of a problem at Spa."

The race began behind the Safety Car, because officials wanted a single-file start. They were concerned that the track was too wet in parts following a heavy shower about two hours before the start. "I actually thought we could have started normally," Webber said, "because the track looked pretty much dry. On the grid before the start we lowered the ride height of my car because we wanted to be as fast as we could in a straight line. I was chasing Ricardo Mauricio and thinking about trying to get a tow up the next straight when suddenly I was pointing the wrong way. It happened so fast and I wasn't really sure which way the car was facing when I hit the barrier.

"This just summarises my year, really. I have done many miles of testing in the Formula One Benetton without putting a scratch on the car, but I have had all sorts of grief in F3000, even though I have won three races. Rest assured that I intend to make that four when we get to Monza for the final race of the season."


FIA F3000 Championship points:

1 Justin Wilson (GB) 65
2 Mark Webber (AUS) 39
= Tomas Enge (CZ) 39
4 Sébastien Bourdais (F) 26
5 Antonio Pizzonia (BR) 22
6 Ricardo Sperafico (BR) 20
7 Bas Leinders (B) 14
8 Ricardo Mauricio (BR) 13
9 Darren Manning (GB) 9
10 Jaime Melo (BR) 8
= David Saelens (B) 8
= Patrick Friesacher (A) 8
13 Stéphane Sarrazin (F) 4
14 Mario Haberfeld (BR) 3
15 Joel Camathias (CH) 2
= Giorgio Pantano (I) 2
= Marc Goosens (B) 2
18 Fabrizio Gollin (I) 1
= Andrea Piccini (I) 1


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