F3000 Italia Round 7: Enna-Pergusa (I), 3rd September 2000

Behind them in the field there were yet more changes. The entry list has declined in the last few races, and this weekend only 19 cars made it to the meeting. Da Vinci, who won the title with Giorgio Vinella as Martello last year, didn't enter, so their regular pilot Derek Hill could not race. At First Grand Prix only one car was raced, Angelo Lancelotti not competing.

Darren Manning took the race victory from pole position, but an error on the first lap meant he relied on others' misfortune to retake the lead. At the start he maintained the lead, but at the Piscine/Swimming Pool chicane on lap 1 he got out of shape and was passed by Gianluca Calcagni and Warren Hughes. Calcagni was the next to throw away the lead, the former Italian F3 front-runner making a mistake at the Schumacher chicane on the third lap. He dropped back to third behind Hughes and Manning.

Hughes looked set to take over the championship lead by winning his third race of the year, but a spin exiting Piscine on lap 7 put paid to that. He recovered but could only finish sixth. He later told Autosport: "I'm absolutely distraught. I had a slight problem with the car that made it unstable under braking, but it was my fault. I didn't want to wake up this morning. The pain is only slowly subsiding." Manning therefore retook the lead and controlled the race to the finish, extending the gap to almost 8 seconds over Calcagni. It was Manning's first victory in an F3000 race and made up for some of the disappointments of his mixed International F3000 season. He later said: "I really enjoyed it, there wasn't much pressure." Calcagni's second place was his best result yet, while Assen non-championship race winner Thomas Biagi was close behind in third.

After Hughes' problems, the championship focus fell upon points leader Ricardo Sperafico and his rival Gabriele Lancieri. Battling for fourth, Lancieri tried to pass Sperafico with two laps to go, but was forced onto the grass. He crashed heavily into the barriers and suffered bruising to his leg. Sperafico went on to finish fourth, ahead of Manuel Giao (Monaco Motorsport) and Hughes.

Sperafico's fourth place extended his lead in the championship. He now leads Hughes by 36 points to 31. Lancieri, on 28 points, can only take the title by winning the final round. The other Sperafico, Rodrigo (Draco), finished eighth and lost his mathematical chance of the championship. Teams and drivers now face a long wait before the championship will be decided at Misano on 22nd October. Fortec Motorsport are set to finally join the field for that race. Manning may be drafted in again by Arden to help Hughes in his title quest.

QUALIFYING:

(All cars Lola T96/50-Zytek)

RACE RESULT:

Key: R=Retired. (All cars Lola T96/50-Zytek)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: