F3000 Italia 1999

As a result of the vain efforts to get UK3000, a British F3000 series, off the ground for the 1999 season, a race in the Italian F3000 championship was held at Donington Park, the scene of the 1993 European Grand Prix and Senna's masterly display. Sharing the bill with the British GT championship, it was the first time an F3000 race has been held anywhere other than Silverstone in Britain since the demise of British F3000 in 1997. Another overseas race was planned for Kyalami, but this failed to materialise. Unfortunately the typical British weather rolled in as it had for the one-off Grand Prix in 1993, appalling rain making the track a great challenge for the inexperienced drivers.

On the driver front, after the Enna race Sighinolfi's Oliver Martini had returned to the International F3000 series, Cesare Manfredini's season for ADM Competition reached an end and Victor Maslov, struggling with Arden in International F3000, made his debut in the Italian series for the same team. Little known Spaniard Rafael Sarandeses made a one-off appearance for the British Redman team.

A British driver, Mark Shaw, took his first pole position in his home event in the final minute, ahead of Werner Lupberger, Polo Villaamil and Giorgio Vinella. Alex Yoong followed up his strong Enna debut with fifth while race winners Marco Apicella and Marcelo Battistuzzi could only manage sixth and seventh. Enna 'winner' (until his disqualification) Ananda Mikola could only manage eighth. Paolo Montin, second in first (wet) qualifying, spun off after only four laps, damaging the back of his Durango Lola. Teammate Jaroslaw Wierczuk had a similarly torrid time, inadvertently knocking the master switch off.

Incessant rain greeted the drivers on race day. Ananda Mikola did not even make the start, spinning off on the warm-up lap. Villaamil made the best start and led from Lupberger for the first seven laps, with the fast-starting Yoong following behind. The trio pulled away from fourth placed Vinella, the winner of the previous round, who dropped 10 seconds behind. Villaamil then did the unthinkable and threw away the lead, spinning out. Lupberger thus took the lead and Yoong moved into second, closing to within two seconds of the experienced South African. The duo extended the gap to 22 seconds back to third-placed Vinella when the safety car was deployed to allow the removal of two crashed cars.

After two laps the safety car pulled off, catching Yoong unawares as he couldn't see the lights go out through the spray. He dropped 8 seconds behind Lupberger before putting in five successive fastest laps to close back in. Again he was caught out by Lupberger's spray, spinning in fifth gear at 220kph before the MacLeans corner after hitting a puddle. He recovered and yet again closed in on Lupberger, finishing the race just 1.217 secs behind him. The final podium place was taken by the Italian Gabriele Lancieri, another rookie. Marcelo Battistuzzi, Giandomenico Brusatin and Victor Maslov took the remaining points finishes on a day when discretion was the better part of valour. Polesitter Mark Shaw failed to make the finish of the race. Montin opted to start on slicks, but payed the price by spinning off in the rain after four laps. Six other drivers also retired in the treacherous conditions, including Vinella. Montin's teammate Wierczuk, suffering from a loose visor, drove to a conservative 7th place. 

*R.Sarandeses was recorded in the results of the Mikola website as finishing 3rd in the race, but he was not credited with these points so this could simply be an error (?).

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