F3000 Italia Round 3: Imola (I), 14th May 2000
Qualifying:
Warren Hughes took pole position by two-tenths of a second ahead of Gabriele Lancieri, Rodrigo Sperafico and Ricardo Sperafico. Thomas Biagi's title hopes were dealt a blow when he only qualified in 24th place. Marcelo Battistuzzi qualified down in 14th for B&C Competition, having switched from the Monaco Junior Team. His place in the squad was taken by former Durango driver Paolo Montin. Battistuzzi replaces Stefano Comandini at B&C Competition. Peter Sundberg has left the series to race in German F3, his Team Ghinzani seat taken by newcomer Marco Deiturbe who qualified last.
Race:
Warren Hughes took his first single seater victory for five years with a dominant display at Imola, a track he had never raced on before. The result places him in second position in the title standings, five behind Gabriele Lancieri who finished second in the race. The victory was also the first in F3000 for Arden, the Italian team being run by John Village Automotive.
Hughes dominated from pole position, taking 11 fastest laps on the way. He finished 10 seconds ahead of Lancieri (Sighinolfi), the local driver suffering from understeer. Hughes benefitted from a car that was "truly perfect", having tested at Snetterton following the Mugello round. Late in the race Lancieri came under pressure from Rodrigo Sperafico (Draco). The Brazilian attempted to pass at Rivazza on the final lap, but Lancieri left his braking to the last minute and closed the door. The other Sperafico twin, Ricardo (ADM Competition), was over 8 seconds behind in a safe fourth place. Behind him Manuel Giao took the two points for 5th having started from the pitlane, passing Monaco Motorsport team-mate Gianluca Calcagni on the way. Calcagni, who started on the front row in a previous round, took his first point in 6th. Former karting star Danilo Rossi (Orbit) impressed with 7th position.
Andrej Pavicevic (Durango Benetton Junior) had been battling with Calcagni for sixth when his gearbox broke at Rivazza, forcing the Australian to coast into the pitlane.
Lancieri retains the championship lead with Hughes entering the battle just five points behind. The consistent Sperafico twins follow, Ricardo heading Rodrigo, with Thomas Biagi in fifth after his disastrous qualifying. Drivers and teams now have a long break until the next round at Monza on June 25th.
QUALIFYING:
|
Pos |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
|
1 |
Warren Hughes (GB) |
Arden |
1m.40s.808 |
|
2 |
Gabriele Lancieri (I) |
Sighinolfi |
1.41.013 |
|
3 |
Rodrigo Sperafico (BR) |
Draco |
1.41.190 |
|
4 |
Ricardo Sperafico (BR) |
ADM Competition |
1.41.410 |
|
5 |
Leonardo Nienkotter (BR) |
Draco |
1.41.557 |
|
6 |
"Babalus" (I) |
First Grand Prix |
1.41.652 |
|
7 |
Gianluca Calcagni (I) |
Monaco Motorsport |
1.42.033 |
|
8 |
Andrej Pavicevic (AUS) |
Durango Benetton Junior |
1.42.057 |
|
9 |
Manuel Giao (P) |
Monaco Motorsport |
1.42.205 |
|
10 |
Victor Maslov (RUS) |
Arden |
1.42.478 |
|
11 |
Michele Spoldi (I) |
Sighinolfi |
1.42.505 |
|
12 |
Derek Hill (USA) |
Da Vinci |
1.42.610 |
|
13 |
Paolo Ruberti (I) |
ADM Competition |
1.42.646 |
|
14 |
Marcelo Battistuzzi (BR) |
B&C Competition |
1.42.707 |
|
15 |
Danilo Rossi (I) |
Orbit Motorsport |
1.42.737 |
|
16 |
Salvatore Tavano (I) |
B&C Competition |
1.42.810 |
|
17 |
Yann Goudy (F) |
Monaco Junior Team |
1.42.934 |
|
18 |
Giandomenico Brusatin (I) |
Da Vinci |
1.43.056 |
|
19 |
Gabriele Gardel (CH) |
GP Racing |
1.43.166 |
|
20 |
Giovanni Montanari (I) |
Durango Benetton Junior |
1.43.206 |
|
21 |
Sascha Bert (D) |
Orbit Motorsport |
1.43.754 |
|
22 |
Nikolaus Stremmenos (G) |
First GP |
1.44.143 |
|
23 |
Paolo Montin (I) |
Monaco Junior Team |
1.44.213 |
|
24 |
Thomas Biagi (I) |
GP Racing |
1.45.235 |
|
25 |
Luca Vacis (I) |
Team Ghinzani |
1.45.710 |
|
26 |
M. Deiturbe |
Team Ghinzani |
1.56.924 |
(All cars Lola T96/50-Zytek)
RACE RESULT:
|
Pos |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
|
1 |
Warren Hughes (GB) |
Arden |
35m43s.155 |
|
2 |
Gabriele Lancieri (I) |
Sighinolfi |
+10.433s |
|
3 |
Rodrigo Sperafico (BR) |
Draco |
+10.792 |
|
4 |
Ricardo Sperafico (BR) |
ADM Competition |
+19.363 |
|
5 |
Manuel Giao (P) |
Monaco Motorsport |
+37.686 |
|
6 |
Gianluca Calcagni (I) |
Monaco Motorsport |
+43.409 |
|
7 |
Danilo Rossi (I) |
Orbit Motorsport |
+48.787 |
|
8 |
Derek Hill (USA) |
Da Vinci |
+49.505 |
|
9 |
Leonardo Nienkotter (BR) |
Draco |
+53.867 |
|
10 |
Paolo Ruberti (I) |
ADM Competition |
+55.092 |
|
11 |
Thomas Biagi (I) |
GP Racing |
+55.374 |
|
12 |
Marcelo Battistuzzi (BR) |
B&C Competition |
+1m.06.065 |
|
13 |
Giandomenico Brusatin (I) |
Da Vinci |
1.11.393 |
|
14 |
Sascha Bert (D) |
Orbit Motorsport |
1.15.135 |
|
15 |
Nikolaus Stremmenos (G) |
First GP |
1.15.540 |
|
16 |
Luca Vacis (I) |
Team Ghinzani |
1 lap |
|
17 |
Andrej Pavicevic (AUS) |
Durango Benetton Junior |
5 laps |
|
18 |
"Babalus" (I) |
First Grand Prix |
9 laps |
|
R |
Yann Goudy (F) |
Monaco Junior Team |
- |
|
R |
Giovanni Montanari (I) |
Durango Benetton Junior |
- |
|
R |
Victor Maslov (RUS) |
Arden |
- |
|
R |
Salvatore Tavano (I) |
B&C Competition |
- |
|
R |
Gabriele Gardel (CH) |
GP Racing |
- |
|
R |
Michele Spoldi (I) |
Sighinolfi |
- |
|
? |
Marco Deiturbe |
Team Ghinzani |
? |
|
NS |
Paolo Montin (I) |
Monaco Junior Team |
- |
Key: R=Retired, NS=Did not start. (All cars Lola T96/50-Zytek)
Scoring: 10-6-4-3-2-1.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
|
Standings after Round 3 of 9 |
|||
|
Pos |
Driver |
Team |
Points |
|
1 |
Gabriele Lancieri (I) |
Sighinolfi |
19 |
|
2 |
Warren Hughes (GB) |
Arden |
14 |
|
3 |
Ricardo Sperafico (BR) |
ADM Competition |
13 |
|
4 |
Rodrigo Sperafico (BR) |
Draco |
11 |
|
5 |
Thomas Biagi (I) |
GP Racing |
9 |
|
6 |
"Babalus" (I) |
First Grand Prix |
4 |
|
7 |
Manuel Giao (P) |
Monaco Motorsport |
3 |
|
8= |
Marcelo Battistuzzi (BR) |
Monaco Junior Team / B&C Competition |
2 |
|
|
Giovanni Montanari (I) |
Durango Benetton Junior |
2 |
|
10 |
Gianluca Calcagni (I) |
Monaco Motorsport |
1 |
[http://uk.oocities.com/unofficialf3000/italianf3000/italia003.htm]