F3000 Italia 1999

MORELLI WINS AT LAST; TITLE GOES TO VINELLA

Championship leader Giorgio Vinella almost threw away the title in qualifying. The track was wet and he lost control of his Martello Lola on the first lap, hitting the barriers at Piratella. He was unhurt and relieved to find that main rival Werner Lupberger qualified only eighth for the Edenbridge/John Village Automotive team. Pole position was taken by Dino Morelli, in only his second Italian F3000 race. Joining him on the front row was Thomas Biagi. British F3 front-runner Kristian Kolby made his debut in F3000 by qualifying an excellent third for Coloni, followed by Marcelo Battistuzzi, Marco Apicella and Paolo Ruberti. The latter made an impressive debut for Team Ghinzani, the Italian F3 team. Paolo Montin was caught out by the treacherous qualifying conditions, spinning into the gravel after just one lap. So bad were the conditions that the session was halted for 12 minutes at one stage. Austrian Walter Thimmler made his F3000 debut, qualifying fourteenth for Draco Racing.

Dino Morelli, the Northern Irishman whose career was interrupted by a horrific crash in 1997, took his first F3000 win in the Italian series finale at Imola. It was only his second race in the championship. Giorgio Vinella clinched the inaugural F3000 Italia championship here, despite only finishing ninth.

Morelli, driving for Coloni, led from start to finish ahead of Thomas Biagi of GP Racing. Biagi pushed very hard, and three laps from the end almost passed when Morelli accidentally switched off his engine. Title protagonist Vinella, meanwhile, started from the back after his qualifying shunt and was delighted to see title rival Lupberger punted off at Piratella in the midfield pack. Lupberger recovered and finished sixth, but the single point wasn't enough to overhaul Vinella.

Third place went to Paolo Ruberti. The former International F3000 driver made the race an excellent debut for himself and Team Ghinzani. Fourth went to Gabriele Lancieri, while Kolby finished a mature fifth on his debut having clashed with Apicella on lap 5 and lost two places. Fourth place starter Battistuzzi took the wrong decision to start on slicks - the only driver to do so. The track did not dry and the Brazilian was forced to pit for new tyres before finishing down in 13th.

Alex Yoong's impressive season came to an end on lap 5. The Malaysian had made a stunning start, moving from seventh to third before Kolby barged him off the track when avoiding another car. Dropping back down to eighth, he fought his way back up the field onto Ruberti's tail. Following Ruberti, he was caught out when the Italian braked early going into Tosa. At first Yoong's brakes failed to respond. He took evasive action as a result, before his rear brakes locked and pitched him off into the gravel. The team later diagnosed the reason as gravel lodged in the brake calipers.

So F3000 Italia's debut season came to an end, with both Giorgio Vinella and Dino Morelli walking away with their greatest achievements to date. The organisers should also consider themselves happy; their series has been a resounding success in its first year, and it is sure to grow further in 2000 when many teams and drivers with the budget to compete in F3000 will find themselves without an entry to the International series.

The final points standings are as follows: (1) Vinella [31], (2) Lupberger [27], (3) Apicella [20], (4) Biagi [16], (5=) Battistuzzi, Lancieri, Morelli [13], etc.

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