2001 Round 5 Qualifying report FIA Formula 3000 International Championship

May 26 MONACO  Monte Carlo more info Monaco Automobile Club de Monaco, B.P.464, 23 Blvd. Albert 1er, MC-98012 Monaco Cedex, MC Tel : +377 93 15 26 00 Fax : +377 93 25 8008

FIA F3000 International Championship.
Round 5 (of 12). Monaco, Monte Carlo.
Circuit length: 3.37kms
QUALIFYING REPORT. Friday 24th May.

WEBBER BOUNCES BACK

Super Nova Racing and Benetton Formula One test driver Mark Webber managed to shake off the scent of bad luck that has dogged his season so far to secure pole position for the fifth round race of the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile Formula 3000 International Championship at Monaco.

Webber was in dominant form, taking the pole position early in the first session and managing to hold it in the second faster one, despite crashing heavily near the end of the allocated 45 minutes. “It’s nice to be back at the front,” said Webber who, since winning the second round race at Imola, has been plagued with misfortune. A victim of accidents in both the third and fourth round races in Spain and Austria, the young Australian driver, who started the year as a firm pre-season favourite, has seen his championship position advantage slide away from him as Coca-Cola Nordic Racing driver Justin Wilson went from strength-to-strength. “Being at the front is the most important thing here and as long as I can make a good start then there is no reason why I should not be confident of winning the race tomorrow.”

Wilson claimed second place on the grid and will be looking to take his third win of the season. “The car was everything I could hope for today and if I can get a good start along with Mark, then I shall be looking to fight for the race win all the way. My season has been like a dream so far and if I could win here it would be the icing on the cake for me. Every driver, in whatever category that they race in, is in awe of Monaco and to win this race would be a great achievement for me.”

Fellow Briton Darren Manning claimed third for the Arden Team Russia outfit, explaining that a lap of Monaco was “an assault on your entire body, the car throwing you from side to side at every turn whilst the steering wheel rips itself from your grasp.” He started the second session without any gears, forcing his team to race against the clock in the pit-lane. Once fixed, Manning was able to set his fastest time near the end of the session.

However, the prize for the most impressive performance of the day went to Stephane Sarrazin, who deputised for Nicolas Filiberti at Prost Junior. Filiberti claimed personal reasons for not attending Monaco, although the more cynical in the paddock felt that this was more down to the team needing a good result more than anything else. Whatever the reasons, Sarrazin was amazing having been out of the car for so long. He quickly fell back into the groove of F3000, driving like a man who knew the course backwards. If ever there was a driver that could upset the race result applecart, then Sarrazin is he. “I am very happy to come back this way although it is a shame that the second session was hampered by numerous accidents. Manning had the opportunity to complete a clear lap in the very last minutes and deprived me from a third position on the starting grid, but I am still on the second row.”

Patrick Friesacher continued with the strong qualifying ability that he had demonstrated in Austria by taking sixth place. Already team managers are starting to take notice of the young Austrian, prompting one team principal to say that “a talent like that will be locked into a long-term contract already.”

Tomas Enge, team mate to Wilson at Coca-Cola Nordic Racing and second in the Drivers Championship managed to put behind him the jinx of non-qualification at Monaco to secure ninth. Despite racing here before, most notably with the McLaren F1 backed West Competition team, Enge had failed to qualify here. Said Enge: “I would have been happy with a top-ten position here for this weekend, but having ran as high as third in the first session I am now a little disappointed not to have finished higher on the grid. Still, we have seen so far this year that a lot can happen at the race start so I shall be looking to make up some places should there be problems on the opening lap.” Enge had pushed hard throughout both sessions, only to push a little too hard in the second, striking the barriers with force. Luckily, the damage was not too great and he, like Webber who also crashed, will be able to race Saturday.