Mark Webber began his FIA Formula 3000 title challenge with a stirring drive to second place from 10th on the grid. 

The Super Nova Lola driver, one of the strong pre-season championship favourites, carved his way through the field in an incident-packed race and had worked his way into second place by lap 24 of 35. He eventually finished 3.6 seconds behind winner Justin Wilson (Coca-Cola Nordic Racing).

"Given where we started the race from, this is a great way to kick off the season," Webber said. "We just had one of those days in qualifying when nothing was quite how we wanted it to be. The car wasn't bad at all, but we were just losing a couple of tenths of a second here and there - small things that add up in the course of a lap.  If you are just half a second per lap behind in a series as close as this, you are going to suffer. And that's what happened to us."

Before the start, the Australian said he would be happy to come away from the weekend with a points-scoring finish.  "I always expected the race in Brazil would be something of a lottery," he said. "We've got four Brazilian guys at the front of the grid. Some of them don't have much F3000 experience, but they have local track knowledge that is a definite short-term benefit. I'm just going to play a waiting game and see what we can come away with after 35 laps. It is going to be a hot, tough race, but I don't have any worries physically because the Formula One test work I am doing with Benetton is the best possible activity for keeping me in good shape."

Webber made the most of a chaotic start and gained a handful of places as cars bunched up at the first turn. "I decided to take the outside line," he said, "because the other side of the track looked a little congested.  I think that paid off for me, but then coming into the second turn I saw once of the leading cars, Ricardo Sperafico's, bouncing off the tyre wall and heading back towards the track. I just kept my fingers crossed that he wasn't going to come spinning back into my path."

Webber completed the opening lap in seventh place, but Sperafico's crash had repercussions that would influence the outcome of the race. The Brazilian's damaged car came to rest by the edge of the track - and stewards decided to send out the Safety Car, to control the pace and give course workers time to clear the debris. 

When leader Jaime Melo saw that the Safety Car was out he slowed down very suddenly - and the following three cars, driven by Antonio Pizzonia, Tomas Enge and Rodrigo Sperafico (Ricardo's twin brother), all overtook him.  No passing is permitted when the Safety Car is deployed, however.  It took the stewards some time to reach a decision, but all three drivers were later given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty.  

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," Webber said. "The rules are quite clear, but those three guys just zipped past Melo. I was fairly sure there would be some kind of penalty for that."

When the race restarted on lap five, Wilson passed Melo legitimately and Webber soon dispensed with David Saelens to hold sixth place on the road - which became third by lap 21, after the leading three drivers had come into the pits to serve their time penalties. Three laps later the Australian challenged Melo for second place, and although his initial effort was repelled he moved ahead within a couple of corners after the Brazilian driver made a mistake under braking.

"Once I was second I thought I'd settle for that," Webber said. "I'd have been happy to score any points at all today - so to get six is a fantastic bonus. I pushed as hard as I could to catch Justin, but we were lapping at a similar pace and he had everything under control. It was his day today, but my turn will come. The car was better in the race than it had been in qualifying - in fact it just got better and better as the race went on.
I finished third in the opening round of the series at Imola last season and it's nice to start the year on an even brighter note this time. The next race is at Imola and I'm really looking forward to that. I've got a bit of F1 testing to do for Benetton in the meantime, so I'm keeping busy - and spending so much time behind the wheel is a good way to keep sharp." 
David Sears, boss of the Super Nova team, was delighted with Webber's performance. He said: "We had a little bit of luck on our side today, but that happens sometimes in motor racing. Three guys made a basic error on the first lap, but Justin and Mark were watching carefully. They are experienced racers and that showed. I was delighted with the way Mark drove today. We knew what a strong racer he was when we signed him - and I think he proved as much this afternoon."

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