F3000 Italia Round 2: Mugello (I), 16th April 2000
Qualifying:
Ricardo Sperafico (ADM) took pole position for his second Italian F3000 race at Mugello. The SudAm F3 graduate was one of the Brazilian drivers in contention for an International F3000 seat with Petrobras Junior. His time of 1:40.307 was the best part of a second ahead of the rest of the field. Another F3 graduate, Gianluca Calcagni (Monaco), a contender for the Italian title in 1999, impressed by setting the second fastest time. Thomas Biagi (GP Racing) again used his vast experience to set third fastest time. In fourth was the current Italian F3 champion Peter Sundberg, once again racing in Gabriele Varano's seat at Team Ghinzani. Fifth on the grid went to SudAm F3 graduate Leonardo Nienkotter (Draco) who started ahead of the little known "Babalus" (First GP). Round 1 winner Gabriele Lancieri (Sighinolfi) started eighth, ahead of the Durango Benetton Junior pair of Giovanni Montanari and Andrej Pavicevic.
Race:
Ricardo Sperafico took a dominant victory at Mugello having started from pole position, setting fastest lap along the way. The former British Formula Ford driver was joined on the podium in the processional race by veteran Thomas Biagi and the secretively-named "Babalus". Gianluca Calcagni threw away a good chance at the green light, the front-row starter accidently switching off his engine. This led to the embarrasing retirement of Monaco teammate Manuel Giao, who clipped the stationary car and went into the wall. The safety car was deployed for 4 laps, after which Ricardo Sperafico was able to pull away from Biagi.
"Babalus" had surprised many with his pace in qualifying for round one at Vallelunga, and finishing on the podium against such a strong field of better-fancied drivers was no mean feat. The battle for fourth was won by Gabriele Lancieri, the winner of the opening round, who held the position throughout. Durango Benetton Junior driver Giovanni Montanari settled for fifth, his best ever result in his third year of F3000 competition. He benefitted from the retirement of teammate Andrej Pavicevic and Draco's Leonardo Nienkotter, the Brazilian blamed for a collision with Pavicevic in the San Donato curve.
The final point for sixth was clinched by the other Sperafico twin, Rodrigo. Like Ricardo the Draco driver has raced in the SudAm F3 series for the last few years. The series appears to produce some top quality drivers, including Junqueira, Zonta and Melo Jr. Peter Sundberg lost the chance of a good finish when he retired on lap 20, while Andrej Pavicevic only lasted six laps. Third row starter Leonardo Nienkotter also failed to finish the race. Twenty drivers finished the race, all on the lead lap, from a field of 26.
Lancieri retains the series lead, 3 points ahead of the winning Sperafico brother, with Biagi in third. The next round is at Imola on May 14th, where Fortec will be entering two cars to further boost the grids of this burgeoning series. International series rookie Andreas Scheld will drive one of the team's cars.
QUALIFYING:
|
Pos |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
|
1 |
Ricardo Sperafico (BR) |
ADM Competition |
1.40.307 |
|
2 |
Gianluca Calcagni (I) |
Monaco Motorsport |
1.41.026 |
|
3 |
Thomas Biagi (I) |
GP Racing |
1.41.116 |
|
4 |
Peter Sundberg (S) |
Team Ghinzani |
1.41.396 |
|
5 |
Leonardo Nienkotter (BR) |
Draco |
1.41.442 |
|
6 |
"Babalus" (I) |
First Grand Prix |
1.41.523 |
|
7 |
Rodrigo Sperafico (BR) |
Draco |
1.41.659 |
|
8 |
Gabriele Lancieri (I) |
Sighinolfi |
1.41.682 |
|
9 |
Giovanni Montanari (I) |
Durango Benetton Junior |
1.41.804 |
|
10 |
Andrej Pavicevic (AUS) |
Durango Benetton Junior |
1.41.840 |
|
11 |
Sascha Bert (D) |
Orbit Motorsport |
1.41.854 |
|
12 |
Manuel Giao (P) |
Monaco Motorsport |
1.41.919 |
|
13 |
Warren Hughes (GB) |
Arden |
1.41.926 |
|
14 |
Paolo Ruberti (I) |
ADM Competition |
1.42.011 |
|
15 |
Marcelo Battistuzzi (BR) |
Monaco Junior Team |
1.42.044 |
|
16 |
Victor Maslov (RUS) |
Arden |
1.42.226 |
|
17 |
Yann Goudy (F) |
Monaco Junior Team |
1.42.272 |
|
18 |
Gabriele Gardel (CH) |
GP Racing |
1.42.312 |
|
19 |
Michele Spoldi (I) |
Sighinolfi |
1.42.497 |
|
20 |
Giandomenico Brusatin (I) |
Da Vinci |
1.42.970 |
|
21 |
Derek Hill (USA) |
Da Vinci |
1.42.975 |
|
22 |
Salvatore Tavano (I) |
New Alex Team |
1.43.130 |
|
23 |
Stefano Comandini (I) |
New Alex Team |
1.43.429 |
|
24 |
Nikolaus Stremmenos (G) |
First GP |
1.43.355 |
|
25 |
Luca Vacis (I) |
Team Ghinzani |
1.44.520 |
|
26 |
Danilo Rossi (I) |
Orbit Motorsport |
1.46.159 |
(All cars Lola T96/50-Zytek)
RACE RESULT:
|
Pos |
Driver |
Team |
Time/laps |
|
1 |
Ricardo Sperafico (BR) |
ADM Competition |
38:34.389 |
|
2 |
Thomas Biagi (I) |
GP Racing |
+2.85 |
|
3 |
"Babalus" (I) |
First Grand Prix |
+15.84 |
|
4 |
Gabriele Lancieri (I) |
Sighinolfi |
+17.01 |
|
5 |
Giovanni Montanari (I) |
Durango Benetton Junior |
+17.64 |
|
6 |
Rodrigo Sperafico (BR) |
Draco |
+22.59 |
|
7 |
Sascha Bert (D) |
Orbit Motorsport |
+26.62 |
|
8 |
Warren Hughes (GB) |
Arden |
+27.07 |
|
9 |
Marcelo Battistuzzi (BR) |
Monaco Junior Team |
+29.57 |
|
10 |
Gianluca Calcagni (I) |
Monaco Motorsport |
+30.50 |
|
11 |
Michele Spoldi (I) |
Sighinolfi |
+38.37 |
|
12 |
Paolo Ruberti (I) |
ADM Competition |
+41.87 |
|
13 |
Derek Hill (USA) |
Da Vinci |
+44.80 |
|
14 |
Stefano Comandini (I) |
New Alex Team |
+48.16 |
|
15 |
Yann Goudy (F) |
Monaco Junior Team |
+48.99 |
|
16 |
Danilo Rossi (I) |
Orbit Motorsport |
+49.42 |
|
17 |
Gabriele Gardel (CH) |
GP Racing |
+49.97 |
|
18 |
Victor Maslov (RUS) |
Arden |
+53.36 |
|
19 |
Giandomenico Brusatin (I) |
Da Vinci |
+59.85 |
|
20 |
Salvatore Tavano (I) |
New Alex Team |
+1:08.47 |
|
R |
Andrej Pavicevic (AUS) |
Durango Benetton Junior |
- |
|
R |
Manuel Giao (P) |
Monaco Motorsport |
- |
|
R |
Leonardo Nienkotter (BR) |
Draco |
- |
|
R |
Peter Sundberg (S) |
Team Ghinzani |
- |
|
R |
Nikolaus Stremmenos (G) |
First GP |
- |
|
R |
Luca Vacis (I) |
Team Ghinzani |
- |
(All cars Lola T96/50-Zytek)
Scoring: 10-6-4-3-2-1.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
|
Standings after Round 2 of 9 |
|||
|
Pos |
Driver |
Team |
Points |
|
1 |
Gabriele Lancieri (I) |
Sighinolfi |
13 |
|
2 |
Ricardo Sperafico (BR) |
ADM Competition |
10 |
|
3 |
Thomas Biagi (I) |
GP Racing |
9 |
|
4 |
Rodrigo Sperafico (BR) |
Draco |
7 |
|
5= |
Warren Hughes (GB) |
Arden |
4 |
|
|
"Babalus" (I) |
First Grand Prix |
4 |
|
7= |
Marcelo Battistuzzi (BR) |
Monaco Junior Team |
2 |
|
|
Giovanni Montanari (I) |
Durango Benetton Junior |
2 |
|
9 |
Manuel Giao (P) |
Monaco Motorsport |
1 |
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