2001 Round 7 Race report FIA Formula 3000 International Championship

June 30 MAGNY-COURS more info France ASA de Nevers Magny-CoursTechnopole, 58470 Magny-Cours, F Tel : +333 8621 2895 Fax : +333 8621 2896

Race Report Rd7
FIA F3000 International Championship
Magny Cours, France.
Saturday 28th June

Result: Round 7.
1 (2) Mark Webber. Super Nova Racing. 54:39.769
2 (4) Justin Wilson. Coca-Cola Nordic Racing. 54:47.223
3 (1) T Enge. Coca-Cola Nordic Racing. 54:49.562
4 (3) P Friesacher. Red Bull Junior Team. 55:00.824
5 (8) D Manning. Arden Team Russia. 55:03.118
6 (7) S Bourdais. DAMS. 55:03.118
7 (5 M Haberfeld. Super Nova Racing. 55:05.471
8 (11) G Pantano. Team Astromega. 55:06.813
9 (6) D Saelens. European Minardi. 55:07.836
10 (9) A Pizzonia. Petrobras Junior Team. 55:10.143
11 (10) J Cochet. Prost Junior. 55:24.499
12 (15) F Gollin. Coloni. 55:37.147
13 (13) R Sperafico. Petrobras Junior Team. 55:37.147
14 (19) J Melo. Durango Formula. 55:52.692
15 (18) R Sperafico. Coloni. 55:53.132
16 (23)D Hill. DAMS. 55:53.614
17 () J Camathias. KTR. 55:54.505
18 (24) V Maslov. Arden Team Russia. 54:43.688
19 (20) G Lancieri. Durango Formula. 54:53.686
20 (17) D Morelli. Team Astromega. 55:12.179
NOT CLASSIFIED
(14) B Leinders. KTR. 28 laps. Accident.
(16) A Piccini. European Minardi. 5 laps. Accident.
(12) R Mauricio. Red Bull Junior. 1 lap. Accident.
(22) Z Baumgartner. Prost Junior. 0 lap.
Fastest lap: M Webber. Super Nova Racing. 1:29.826 (170.369kph)

Drivers’ Championship points after 7 (of 12) rounds.
1: Wilson. 37 pts.
2: Webber. 36 pts.
3: Enge. 32 pts.
4: Leinders. 12 pts.
5: Melo; Manning; Bourdais; Saelens; Pizzonia; 8 pts.
10: Sperafico. 6 pts.
11: Friesacher. 5 pts.
12: Sarrazin. 4 pts.
13: Haberfeld; Mauricio. 3 pts.
15: Camathias. 2 pts.
16: Gollin; Piccini. 1 pt.

Team Championship points after 7 (of 12) rounds.
1: Coca-Cola Nordic Racing. 69 pts.
2: Super Nova Racing. 39pts.
3: KTR; Petrobras Junior Team. 14 pts.
5: European Minardi. 9 pts.
6: Durango Formula; Arden Team Russia; DAMS; Red Bull Junior; 8 pts.
10: Prost Junior. 4 pts.
11: Coloni. 1 pt.

“TIGHT AT THE TOP” 

Australian Mark Webber, Super Nova Racing F3000 and Benetton Formula One test driver won the seventh round race of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile Formula 3000 Championship, at Magny Cours, France.
Having started from second on the grid, Webber was able to make the most of the opportunity when pole-sitter Tomas Enge missed a gearshift at the start.
Championship leader Justin Wilson finished the race in second place, retaining the championship lead that he has held all season.

This championship has now turned into a three-way fight between Webber, Wilson and Enge with each driver being afforded numerous chances to take the championship lead. However, it is only Wilson who has managed to consistently score enough points in each round (aside from the Nurburgring) to maintain the championship lead.

“I made a good start,” said Enge, “but then I missed the change from first to second gear. This allowed Mark (Webber) to get past me and by the time I had got it together again, he was gone.”

“Once I had got past it was like Christmas,” said Webber. “The car was really good right from the start and my biggest problem was the heat in the car. The temperatures out there today were pretty hot.”

Third placed starter Patrick Friesacher quickly lost his place to fourth placed Wilson at the start, with Darren Manning (Arden Team Russia) fifth and Mario Haberfeld (Super Nova Racing) sixth.

The action starts as quickly as lap one with Ricardo Mauricio (Red Bull Junior) running into the gravel at the first turn. As he rejoined the race he is clipped by Hungarian driver Zsolt Baumgartner, who is launched straight into the gravel and out of the race. Mauricio, however, is able to make it back to the pits with some suspension damage but is forced to retire.

The order in the top six remains unchanged until lap six when Haberfeld ran straight across the kerbs at the final chicane, handing his point winning position to Sebastien Bourdais.

Back in front Webber manages to extend his lead over Enge to 3.6 seconds by lap 10, with Wilson some 5.4 seconds further back. Already though, Enge is having problems with his rear tires, both of which have started to deteriorate rapidly. “We made a change on the grid to my set-up and this, it seems, was in the wrong direction,” said Enge, who had to deal with the now constant attentions of Wilson, who shadowed his gearbox at every opportunity. This game of show and tell between Enge and Wilson lasted until the final lap, whereupon Wilson was able to pass at the Adelaide hairpin. “Tomas was very quick out of the corners but was struggling on his way into them,” said Wilson. “I knew that he was struggling with his car into Adelaide, so this had to be the place. He ran a little wide on the final lap and I made my move.”

Enge was philosophical about the whole day. “For sure I am sad to have made such a mistake at the start, a mistake that cost me the race win. But that is motor racing and I will just have to be better at Silverstone in two weeks time. Justin gave me a good fight today and I could just not keep him behind, although I still did manage to finish on the podium.

With Wilson passing Enge for second being the only change in the top six, any other action was left to the runners at the back of the grid. Dino Morelli, having crashed out on the final lap at the Nurburgring (whilst racing for 15th) again came under scrutiny. As a rule it is usually his team-mate Giorgio Pantano who crashes first, yet today he managed to complete an opening lap without incident – only his third time in seven races. Now it is the turn of Morelli who, on lap 24, collides with DAMS driver, American Derek Hill, whilst fighting for 17th place. Then Morelli, when leaving the pits, crosses the pit exit blend line too early, forcing the stewards to investigate, the outcome of which is not known at the time of writing. Then, on lap 27, Morelli is lapped by the Prost Junior car of Jonathon Cochet, but not before the two touch at the chicane, Morelli being forced across the kerbs. He would finish 20th and last.

“This has put a whole new emphasis on the championship,” said race winner Webber afterwards. “The next race is Silverstone, which I know well and I am very confident that we can again produce the goods there. The only problem is that I must qualify in front of the Nordic guys first.”

Ends…