2003 F3000 International Championship



Round 1: Imola, 19th April

Qualifying Pos. Name Team Time 1 Bjorn Wirdheim Arden 1:38.153 2 Patrick Friesacher Red Bull 1:38.338 3 Vitantonio Liuzzi Red Bull 1:38.811 4 Ricardo Sperafico Coloni 1:38.919 5 Townsend Bell Arden 1:39.077 6 Yannick Schroeder PSM Charouz 1:39.257 7 Giorgio Pantano Durango 1:39.443 8 Raffaele Gianmaria Durango 1:39.850 9 Nicolas Minassian Brand 1:39.930 10 Enrico Toccacelo SuperNova/Jordan Junior 1:39.940 11 Jeffrey van Hooydonk Astromega 1:39.992 12 Tony Schmidt Astromega 1:40.005 13 Nicolas Kiesa Den Bla Avis 1:40.011 14 Gary Paffett Brand 1:40.174 15 Jaroslav Janis Superfund ISR Charouz 1:40.247 16 Zsolt Baumgartner Coloni 1:40.359 17 Rob Nguyen BCN 1:40.530 18 Robbie Kerr Den Bla Avis 1:40.897 19 Derek Hill SuperNova/Jordan Junior 1:41.351 20 Valerio Scassellati BCN 1:43.206 Race Result Pos. No. Driver Nat Entrant Laps Time 1 1 Bjorn Wirdheim SWE Arden International Ltd 31 52m15.743 2 17 Patrick Friesacher AUT Red Bull Junior Team F3000 31 52m16.050 3 3 Ricardo Sperafico BRA Coloni Motorsport 31 52m39.892 4 16 Vitantonio Liuzzi ITA Red Bull Junior Team F3000 31 52m52.813 5 6 Enrico Toccacelo ITA Super Nova Racing Ltd 31 52m53.107 6 15 Yannick Schroeder FRA Superfund - ISR - Charouz 31 52m56.753 7 10 Raffaele Giammaria ITA Durango 31 53m11.740 8 18 Rob Nguyen AUS BCN F3000 31 53m20.153 9 2 Townsend Bell USA Arden International Ltd 31 53m21.796 10 4 Zsolt Baumgartner HUN Coloni Motorsport 31 53m36.887 11 20 Nicolas Minassian GBR Brand Motorsports 31 53m51.141 12 7 Nicolas Kiesa DEN Den Bla Avis 31 53m58.972* 13 19 Valerio Scassellati ITA BCN F3000 30 14 21 Gary Paffett GBR Brand Motorsports 30 15 5 Derek Hill USA Super Nova Racing Ltd 30 DNF 12 Jeff Van Hooydonk BEL Team Astromega 18 DNF 11 Tony Schmidt GER Team Astromega 15 DNF 9 Giorgio Pantano ITA Durango 14 DNS 14 Jaroslav Janis CZE Superfund-ISR-Charouz stopped on warm up DNS 8 Robbie Kerr GBR Den Bla Avis fuel pump * includes 25s time penalty for causing an avoidable accident Fastest Lap: Wirdheim, 1m39.645 (110.746 mph)

Round 2: Barcelona, 3rd May

Ps # Driver Nat Entrant Result Grid Qual Time 1 9 Giorgio Pantano ITA Durango 52m50.428, 32 laps 1 1m33.958 2 1 Bjorn Wirdheim SWE Arden International Ltd 52m53.706 2 1m34.246 3 6 Enrico Toccacelo ITA Super Nova Racing Ltd 53m11.181 7 1m34.511 4 14 Jaroslav Janis CZE Superfund-ISR-Charouz 53m19.770 5 1m34.447 5 18 Rob Nguyen AUS BCN F3000 53m27.773 15 1m35.178 6 11 Tony Schmidt GER Team Astromega 53m28.046 13 1m35.024 7 4 Zsolt Baumgartner HUN Coloni Motorsport 53m28.878 16 1m35.289 8 15 Yannick Schroeder FRA Superfund - ISR - Charouz 53m35.192 6 1m34.476 9 Alessandro Piccolo ITA BCN F3000 53m46.912 17 1m35.325 10 7 Nicolas Kiesa DEN Den Bla Avis 54m27.477 9 1m34.822 11 5 Derek Hill USA Super Nova Racing Ltd 31 laps 8 1m34.683 12 2 Townsend Bell USA Arden International Ltd 31 11 1m34.873 DNF 3 Ricardo Sperafico BRA Coloni Motorsport 25/handling 4 1m34.441 DNF 16 Vitantonio Liuzzi ITA Red Bull Junior Team F3000 16/accident damage 10 1m34.841 DNF 12 Jeff Van Hooydonk BEL Team Astromega 6/accident damage 3 1m34.385 DNF 10 Raffaele Giammaria ITA Durango 1/accident 18 1m35.476 DNF Philip Giebler USA Den Bla Avis 1/accident 14 1m35.056 DNF 17 Patrick Friesacher AUT Red Bull Junior Team F3000 1/injured arm 12 1m34.885 Fastest Lap: Pantano, 1m35.998 (110.217 mph)

Round 3: A1-Ring, 17th May


Ps  #  Driver                   Nat  Entrant                    Laps Time      Gap    Kph   Best Lap On Lap Grid Qual
 1  3  Ricardo Sperafico        BRA  Coloni Motorsport          35 49:08.128        184.888 1:23.480  8       1 1:22.036
 2  1  Bjorn Wirdheim           SWE  Arden International Ltd    35 49:11.799 03.671 184.658 1:23.473  8       2 1:22.099
 3  9  Giorgio Pantano          ITA  Durango                    35 49:18.183 10.065 184.261 1:23.650  8       5 1:22.994
 4 16  Vitantonio Liuzzi        ITA  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 35 49:27.371 19.243 183.689 1:23.679  9       3 1:22.152
 5  6  Enrico Toccacelo         ITA  Super Nova Racing Ltd      35 49:29.658 21.530 183.548 1:23.548 23       7 1:23.118
 6  7  Nicolas Kiesa            DEN  Den Bla Avis               35 49:35.531 27.403 183.186 1:23.671 25      13 1:23.488
 7  2  Townsend Bell            USA  Arden International Ltd    35 49:38.344 30.216 183.013 1:23.823 10       4 1:22.360
 8  8  Phil Giebler             ITA  Den Bla Avis               35 49:39.165 31.037 182.962 1:23.951 19       8 1:23.157
 9 14  Jaroslav Janis           CZE  Superfund - ISR - Charouz  35 49:39.575 31.447 182.937 1:23.891 21      10 1:23.258
10  4  Zsolt Baumgartner        HUN  Coloni Motorsport          35 50:03.221 56.093 181.497 1:24.330 16       9 1:23.161
11 17  Bernhard Auinger         AUT  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 35 50:07.632 59.704 181.218 1:24.425 34      14 1:23.599
12 19  Alessandro Piccolo       ITA  BCN F3000                  35 50:24.887 76.759 180.197 1:24.412 16      11 1:23.435
13 18  Rob Nguyen               SUI  BCN F3000                  35 50:35.525 87.398 179.565 1:24.992  7      15 1:23.608
14 10  Raffaele Giammaria       ITA  Durango                    34 50:14.777 1 LAP  175.635 1:24.133 14      17 1:23.960
15 11  Tony Schmidt             GER  Team Astromega             31 44:16.231 g'rbox 181.754 1:24.355 15       6 1:23.061
 R 15  Yannick Schroeder        FRA  Superfund - ISR - Charouz  19 27:26.723 accid. 179.689 1:24.581 17      16 1:23.675
 R  5  Derek Hill               USA  Super Nova Racing Ltd      19 27:50.501 accid. 177.131 1:24.703 13      12 1:23.475

Race Facts and Incidents

Lap 1: Pole position qualifier Ricardo Sperafico (Coloni) holds off a spirited, lap-long challenge from championship leader Björn Wirdheim (Arden). Half the field runs wide at Turn One, but there’s no longer any gravel in which they can get stuck. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull Jr), Townsend Bell (Arden), Giorgio Pantano (Durango) and Tony Schmidt (Astromega) occupy third to sixth places.

Lap 3: Pantano passes Bell for fourth.

Lap 4: Liuzzi pushes Wirdheim for second but the Swede fends him off.

Lap 7: Raffaele Giammaria (Durango) runs wide at the last corner and bounces across the gravel. He rejoins without losing 16th place.

Lap 10: Just 2.1 seconds covers the top three. All 17 cars – the smallest field since Zandvoort 1985 – are still running.

Lap 11: Local driver Bernard Auinger passes Derek Hill at Turn One to take 14th place. Auinger is standing in for Red Bull Jr racer Patrick Friesacher, who broke his left arm during the previousb race in Barcelona. At the end of the lap Hill runs wide through the dirt at Turn Nine although doesn’t lose any more positions.

Lap 12: Liuzzi makes a mistake and Pantano passes him at Turn Three.

Lap 13: Bell passes Liuzzi, too.

Lap 14: The best battle is that for 12th, between Rob Nguyen (BCN), Auinger, Alessandro Piccolo (BCN) and Hill.

Lap 16: Piccolo spins to the tail of the field. Auinger runs wide and drops to 15th.

Lap 18: Wirdheim launches a fresh assault and closes to within 0.4s of Sperafico. Liuzzi repasses Bell for fourth.

Lap 19: Hill passes Nguyen for 12th at Turn One – but immediately spins and loses his nose wing courtesy of the passing Auinger. Hill brings what’s left of his car to the pits to post the first retirement.

Lap 20: Yannick Schroeder (ISR Charouz) posts the second by spinning out of 13th place at Turn Five.

Lap 22: Enrico Toccacelo (Super Nova/Jordan) deprives Schmidt of sixth.

Lap 24: Schmidt loses another place, this time to Nicolas Kiesa (Den Blå Avis). Auinger passes Nguyen for 12th.

Lap 27: Toccacelo moves up to fifth at Bell’s expense.

Lap 29: Jaroslav Janis (ISR Charouz) passes Schmidt on the approach to Turn Two, but then runs wide and loses out to both Schmidt and Phil Giebler (Den Blå Avis). Giammaria peels into the pits but swiftly rejoins.

Lap 31: Kiesa passes Bell for sixth. Giebler and Janis sweep ahead of Schmidt, who pits at the end of the lap and goes no further.

Lap 32: Piccolo finally manages to get ahead of Nguyen, at Turn Two. That puts him 12th.

Lap 33: Giammaria spins at Turn Eight.

Lap 35: Sperafico clinches the second victory of his F3000 career by 3.6 seconds. Wirdheim, who eased up in the closing stages, is second from Pantano, Liuzzi, Toccacelo, Kiesa, Bell and Giebler. Provisionally, Wirdheim leads the championship by 10 points from Pantano and Sperafico.


Round 4: Monaco, 31st May


Ps  # Driver                    Nat  Entrant                   Laps Time         Gap        Kph   Best Lap On Grid Qual.
 1  7 Nicolas Kiesa             DEN  Den Bla Avis               45 1:09:21.483            130.020 1:28.192 18  6 1:27.204   
 2  1 Bjorn Wirdheim            SWE  Arden International Ltd    45 1:09:22.376 00.895     129.992 1:27.384 12  1 1:24.881
 3 10 Raffaele Giammaria        ITA  Durango                    45 1:09:24.886 03.353     129.916 1:28.688 18  9 1:27.674
 4 14 Jaroslav Janis            CZE  Superfund - ISR - Charouz  45 1:09:25.328 03.845     129.900 1:28.749 18  8 1:27.605
 5  4 Zsolt Baumgartner         HUN  Coloni Motorsport          45 1:09:26.033 04.550     129.878 1:29.172 34 10 1:27.744
 6  2 Townsend Bell             USA  Arden International Ltd    45 1:09:26.837 05.354     129.853 1:29.025 26 18 1:59.134
 7 15 Yannick Schroeder         FRA  Superfund - ISR - Charouz  45 1:09:37.341 15.858     129.527 1:29.044  9 12 1:27.988
 8 12 Jeff Van Hooydonk         BEL  Team Astromega             45 1:09:38.318 16.885     129.497 1:29.247 19  7 1:27.291
 9 17 Bernhard Auinger          AUT  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 44 1:10:34.649 1 LAP      124.935 1:29.578  9 13 1:28.394
10 18 Will Langhorne            USA  BCN F3000                  43 1:09:58.024 2 LAPS     123.131 1:32.183 37 17 1:41.809
 R  9 Giorgio Pantano           ITA  Durango                    39 1:00:10.228 accident   129.891 1:27.892  9  3 1:26.257
 R  3 Ricardo Sperafico         BRA  Coloni Motorsport          39 1:01:38.905 black flag 126.776 1:27.908 26  2 1:26.160
 R  6 Enrico Toccacelo          ITA  Super Nova Racing Ltd      34 0:50:49.721 accident   134.050 1:28.516 10  5 1:26.694
 R 16 Vitantonio Liuzzi         ITA  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 34 0:50:50.035 accident   134.036 1:28.495 27  4 1:26.488
 R 11 Tony Schmidt              GER  Team Astromega             25 0:43:09.029 vibration  116.105 1:30.882  6 16 1:29.671
 R  5 Derek Hill                USA  Super Nova Racing Ltd      17 0:27:18.563 black flag 124.746 1:29.484  9 14 1:28.673
 R  8 Phil Giebler              ITA  Den Bla Avis                0             spin                           15 1:29.038
NS 19 Alessandro Piccolo        ITA  BCN F3000                                                                11 1:27.835

Race Facts And Incidents

Pre-race: Alessandro Piccolo (BCN) is withdrawn after suffering a back injury when he crashed heavily at Casino Square during qualifying. He would have started 11th.

Lap 1: Pole position qualifier and series leader Björn Wirdheim (Arden International) makes a spirited start to lead Ricardo Sperafico (Coloni), Giorgio Pantano (Durango), Enrico Toccacelo (Super Nova/Jordan), Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull Jr) and Nicolas Kiesa (Den Blå Avis). Several drivers take a short cut across the pit lane exit lane at Ste Dévote. Phil Giebler spins out of 17th (aka last) place at Tabac and retires after clipping the barrier.

Lap 3: Having started last because he crashed early in qualifying, Townsend Bell (Arden International) passes newcomer Will Langhorne (BCN) for 15th place.

Lap 8: Pantano locks his brakes in his efforts to unsettle Sperafico. Bell moves up to 14th by passing Tony Schmidt (Astromega).

Lap 10: Wirdheim leads by 6.5 seconds – and his advantage is growing by the lap.

Lap 13: The stewards impose drive-through penalties on Jeffrey van Hooydonk (Astromega, seventh), Yannick Schroeder (ISR Charouz, 10th), Derek Hill (Super Nova/Jordan, 13th), Schmidt (15th) and Langhorne (16th) for taking an inappropriate line through Ste Dévote on lap one.

Lap 14: Within moments of having rejoined following his pit stop, Hill slides down the escape road at Mirabeau and rejoins at the back of the field.

Lap 15: With all pit penalties served, Raffaele Giammaria (Durango) and Jaroslav Janis (ISR Charouz) move up to seventh and eighth – the final two points-scoring positions. Bell is up to 11th, ahead of van Hooydonk, Schroeder, Schmidt, Langhorne and Hill. The latter two are one lap in arrears.

Lap 18: Hill receives the black flag because marshals had given him a push start when he slithered off at Mirabeau.

Lap 20: Wirdheim leads by 17.0s. Pantano is all over Sperafico – and Toccacelo is catching them both.

Lap 22: Pantano barges his way into second place at the Virage Anthony Noghès.

Lap 23: Toccacelo moves up to third at Sperafico’s expense. Schmidt pits and loses three laps before rejoining.

Lap 24: Sperafico pits and rejoins in 13th place, one lap down. Liuzzi moves up to fourth ahead of Kiesa, Giammaria, Janis and Zsolt Baumgartner.

Lap 27: Bell passes Bernard Auinger (Red Bull Jnr) for ninth. He is little more than a second away from a place among the points.

Lap 29: Make that 0.3 seconds.

Lap 30: Pantano has pegged back Wirdheim’s serene progress. The Swede has only stretched his advantage to 23.6s. Liuzzi is on Toccacelo’s tail and pressing hard.

Lap 31: Too hard. Liuzzi locks up at the chicane and goes straight on, although he doesn’t lose much time.

Lap 32: Toccacelo laps Langhorne by cutting across the exit of the swimming pool complex, which gives him breathing space over Liuzzi. It also earns him a drive-through penalty.

Lap 35: Toccacelo has still to serve his drive-through penalty when he and Liuzzi tangle on the approach to Massenet. The Safety Car is deployed and Wirdheim’s huge lead has suddenly evaporated. Kiesa is now third from Giammaria, Janis, Baumgartner, Bell and van Hooydonk.

Lap 37: Race restarts. Wirdheim has Auinger’s lapped car between himself and Pantano – until the Austrian skates down the escape road at Ste Devote.

Lap 39: Sperafico – a lapped 10th – is trying very hard to pass Pantano on the road.

Lap 40: Sperafico passes Pantano at Mirabeau and forces the Italian into the tyre wall. The stewards are not impressed.

Lap 41: Black flag for car three (driver: R Sperafico). Wirdheim leads from Kiesa, Giammaria, Janis, Baumgartner, Bell, Schroeder and van Hooydonk. Only 10 cars are still running.

Lap 45: Comfortably ahead, Wirdheim stops just before the finishing line and Kiesa passes him. Realising he hasn’t passed the chequered flag, Wirdheim gets going again and takes second, from Giammaria.

Slowing-down lap: Giammaria almost runs into the celebrating Kiesa’s car.


Round 5: Nürburgring, 28th June


Ps  # Driver 			Nat  Entrant 			Laps Time 	  Gap     Kph   Best Lap On Grid Qual.
 1  6 Enrico Toccacelo 		ITA  Super Nova Racing Ltd 	30 55:17.457            167.574 1:49.562  6  3 1:48.286
 2 16 Vitantonio Liuzzi 	ITA  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 30 55:17.940      0.483 167.550 1:49.833 25  5 1:48.717
 3  7 Nicolas Kiesa 		DEN  Den Bla Avis 		30 55:31.987     14.530 166.844 1:50.191  6 10 1:49.391
 4 15 Yannick Schroeder 	FRA  Superfund - ISR - Charouz 	30 55:43.369     26.412 166.261 1:50.598  9  9 1:49.351
 5  5 Derek Hill 		USA  Super Nova Racing Ltd 	30 55:44.234     26.777 166.233 1:50.407  7  7 1:48.998
 6 14 Jaroslav Janis 		CZE  Superfund - ISR - Charouz 	30 55:44.547     27.090 166.217 1:50.385 21 12 1:49.500
 7 10 Raffaele Giammaria 	ITA  Durango 			30 55:58.886     41.429 165.508 1:50.292 10 16 1:50.586
 8 12 Jeff Van Hooydonk 	BEL  Team Astromega 		30 56:01.678     44.221 165.370 1:50.979  6  8 1:49.343
 9  8 Phil Giebler 		ITA  Den Bla Avis 		30 56:01.841     44.384 165.362 1:51.039 16 11 1:49.440
10 11 Tony Schmidt 		GER  Team Astromega 		30 56:02.353     44.896 165.337 1:50.900 23 13 1:49.675
11  4 Zsolt Baumgartner 	HUN  Coloni Motorsport 		30 56:02.872     45.415 165.311 1:50.954  6 15 1:49.911
12 18 Will Langhorne 		USA  BCN F3000 			30 56:23.734     66.277 164.292 1:51.353 19 17 1:50.607
13  1 Bjorn Wirdheim 		SWE  Arden International Ltd  	30 56:36.674     79.217 163.666 1:49.026 14  1 1:48.123
14  3 Ricardo Sperafico 	BRA  Coloni Motorsport 		30 56:39.666     82.209 163.522 1:49.055  7  2 1:48.140
15 19 Valerio Scassellati 	ITA  BCN F3000 			29 55:25.983      1 LAP 161.573 1:52.524  5 18 1:51.782
16  9 Giorgio Pantano 		ITA  Durango 			28 54:22.926        DNF 159.015 1:49.357 10 14 1:49.793
 R  2 Townsend Bell 		USA  Arden International Ltd 	 4 07:52.388 acc.damage 156.798 1:50.789  3  6 1:48.874
 R 17 Patrick Friesacher 	AUT  Red Bull Junior Team F3000  4 07:55.250 acc.damage 155.854 1:50.869  2  4 1:48.464

Race Facts And Incidents

Lap 1: Pole position qualifier and series leader Björn Wirdheim (Arden International) leads into the complex, where Ricardo Sperafico (Coloni) attempts to wrest first place. The two cars touch: Sperafico runs wide and Wirdheim breaks his nose wing. Both pit at the end of the lap – after a couple of trips through the gravel in Sperafico’s case. Enrico Toccacelo (Super Nova/Jordan) takes the lead from Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull Jnr), Patrick Friesacher (Red Bull Jnr), Townsend Bell (Arden International), Nicolas Kiesa (Den Blå Avis) and Derek Hill (Super Nova/Jordan). Sperafico and Wirdheim rejoin without losing a lap: they are now 17th and 18th respectively.

Lap 2: Yannick Schroeder (ISR Charouz) and Jeff van Hooydonk (Astromega) pass Hill.

Lap 4: Bell tries to overtake Friesacher at Turn One but their cars touch and spin. Friesacher – making his first start since breaking his wrist in Barcelona – loses his rear wing. Both retire to the pits at the end of the lap.

Lap 5: Friesacher catches up with Bell in the pits. Judging by the way he’s waving his arms about, the Austrian’s broken wrist has healed perfectly.

Lap 7: Title contender Giorgio Pantano (Durango) all but hits van Hooydonk while trying to wrest sixth place at Turn One. The Italian subsequently clips a cone at the NGK chicane and breaks his front wing.

Lap 8: Pantano presses on with his front wing in tatters. He spins at the Ford-Kurve – and causes team-mate Raffaele Giammaria to come to a complete halt, which costs the latter several seconds. Pantano pits for repairs.

Lap 10: Toccacelo leads by 1.3 seconds from Liuzzi, Kiesa, Schroeder, Hill, van Hooydonk, Jaroslav Janis (ISR Charouz) and Phil Giebler (Den Blå Avis). Wirdheim, Sperafico and Pantano – the championship’s top three – are lapping about half a second faster than the leader, albeit in 15th, 14th and 16th respectively.

Lap 16: Toccacelo locks a brake at the Dunlop-Kurve, not that it matters a great deal. The ISR Charouz drivers are involved in the closest battles: Schroeder is defending fourth, Janis pushing for sixth.

Lap 17: Janis passes van Hooydonk cleanly at Turn One.

Lap 18: Liuzzi rams a cone at the NGK chicane – but his wing survives.

Lap 22: Sperafico and Wirdheim pass series returnee Valerio Scassellati (BCN) to move up to 13th and 14th.

Lap 25: Liuzzi sets his best lap of the race so far – a 1m 49.833s – and closes to within one second of the leader. Sperafico ploughs across the chicane grass and Wirdheim latches on to his gearbox.

Lap 30: Toccacelo beats Liuzzi by 0.4s to score the second FIA F3000 victory of his career. Kiesa takes third from Schroeder, Hill, Janis, and Giammaria, who passes van Hooydonk when the latter runs wide at Turn One. Wirdheim passes Sperafico in the closing stages and continues to lead the championship. He is 10 points clear of Toccacelo.


Round 6: Magny-Cours, 5th July


Ps  # Driver 			Nat  Entrant 			Laps Time      Gap     Kph   Best Lap On Grid Qual
 1  9 Giorgio Pantano 		ITA  Durango 			35 53:23.683         173.276 1:30.924  5  1 1:28.888
 2  1 Bjorn Wirdheim 		SWE  Arden International Ltd  	35 53:28.481  04.798 173.017 1:30.926  2  2 1:28.933
 3  3 Ricardo Sperafico 	BRA  Coloni Motorsport 		35 53:40.697  17.014 172.361 1:31.286  9  4 1:29.357
 4 16 Vitantonio Liuzzi 	ITA  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 35 53:52.858  29.175 171.712 1:31.730  5  5 1:29.434
 5 11 Tony Schmidt 		GER  Team Astromega 		35 53:55.790  32.107 171.557 1:31.781  5  6 1:29.554
 6 12 Jeffrey Van Hooydonk 	BEL  Team Astromega 		35 53:56.492  32.809 171.520 1:31.601  2 10 1:29.802
 7 15 Yannick Schroeder 	FRA  Superfund - ISR - Charouz 	35 54:07.664  43.981 170.930 1:31.945  5  7 1:29.643
 8 10 Raffaele Giammaria 	ITA  Durango 			35 54:13.486  49.803 170.624 1:31.976 14 15 1:30.807
 9  4 Zsolt Baumgartner 	HUN  Coloni Motorsport 		35 54:22.825  59.142 170.135 1:32.405  5  9 1:29.683
10  5 Derek Hill 		USA  Super Nova Racing Ltd 	35 54:23.451  59.768 170.103 1:32.266  6 13 1:30.195
11 17 Patrick Friesacher 	AUT  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 35 54:23.658  59.975 170.092 1:31.714  2  8 1:29.672
12  2 Townsend Bell 		USA  Arden International Ltd 	35 54:25.361  61.678 170.003 1:32.578 24 11 1:29.811
13  6 Enrico Toccacelo 		ITA  Super Nova Racing Ltd 	35 54:27.106  63.423 169.912 1:32.173  3 14 1:30.343
14 18 Will Langhorne 		USA  BCN F3000 			34 53:33.446   1 LAP 167.808 1:32.940  5 16 1:31.501
15 19 Valerio Scassellati 	ITA  BCN F3000 			34 54:18.976   1 LAP 165.464 1:34.133 24 17 1:32.474
 R  7 Nicolas Kiesa 		DEN  Den Bla Avis 		17 27:00.657 gearbox 166.161 1:32.276  6 12 1:30.192
 R 14 Jaroslav Janis 		CZE  Superfund - ISR - Charouz   3 05:04.835 gearbox 154.103 1:34.454  2  3 1:29.077

Race Facts And Incidents

Pre-race: American Phil Giebler (Den Blå Avis) withdraws after aggravating a shoulder injury when he clipped a kerb during qualifying. The American, who qualified 16th, hopes to be fit to return at Silverstone on July 19.

Lap 1: Pole position qualifier Giorgio Pantano (Durango) beats championship leader Björn Wirdheim (Arden International) off the line. Third-fastest qualifier Jaroslav Janis (ISR Charouz) stalls and gets away last. He swiftly compounds this error by running wide at Turn 12. Ricardo Sperafico (Coloni), Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull Jnr) and Tony Schmidt (Astromega) run third to fifth. Jeffrey van Hooydonk (Astromega) passes Patrick Friesacher (Red Bull Jnr) around the outside coming into the new Lycée complex to take sixth. France’s lone representative Yannick Schroeder (ISR Charouz) settles into eighth.

Lap 3: Janis pits and retires.

Lap 4: Townsend Bell (Arden International) runs wide at the first corner and slips from 11th to 14th.

Lap 5: Pantano sets his fastest lap so far – a 1m 30.928s – and leads Wirdheim by 1.2 seconds.

Lap 10: Pantano locks up his front-left wheel going into Turn 8 but doesn’t suffer unduly: Wirdheim remains one second in arrears.

Lap 15: Monaco winner Nicolas Kiesa (Den Blå Avis) spins at Turn 13 and drops from 11th to 15th.

Lap 16: Pantano leads by 1.3 seconds. Friesacher is pushing van Hooydonk extremely hard: both are tucked up behind Schmidt.

Lap 17: Kiesa peels into the pits and stays there.

Lap 23: Van Hoydonk locks his rear wheels entering Turn 8, but Friesacher can’t find a way through.

Lap 25: Friesacher dives inside van Hoydonk at Turn 8: they touch and the Austrian – who hasn’t scored a point since he finished second in the season-opener at Imola – spins down to 11th place. Pantano’s team-mate Raffaele Giammaria moves up to eighth, 5.5 seconds adrift of Schroeder.

Lap 28: Friesacher rejoins without losing a place after ploughing through the gravel at Estoril.

Lap 31: Schroeder runs wide at Adelaide while lapping tail-ender Valerio Scassellatti but he only loses about one second.

Lap 35: Pantano beats Wirdheim by 4.7 seconds and becomes the first driver to have scored more than one victory this season. Sperafico, Liuzzi, Schmidt (a career-best fifth), van Hooydonk, Schroeder and Giammaria also score points. Wirdheim, runner-up for the fourth time in six races, continues to lead the championship. Provisionally, he has 42 points to Pantano’s 26.


Round 7: Silverstone, 19th July


Ps  # Driver 			Nat  Entrant 			Laps Time      Gap    Kph   Best Lap On Grid Qual
 1  1 Bjorn Wirdheim 		SWE  Arden International Ltd  	30 50:25.858  	    183.369 1:39.471 2  1 1:36.541
 2  9 Giorgio Pantano 		ITA  Durango 			30 50:34.793 08.935 182.829 1:39.508 2  2 1:36.971
 3 16 Vitantonio Liuzzi 	ITA  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 30 50:46.508 20.650 182.126 1:40.374 4  4 1:37.138
 4  3 Ricardo Sperafico 	BRA  Coloni Motorsport 		30 50:46.939 21.081 182.100 1:40.388 2  3 1:37.071
 5 17 Patrick Friesacher 	AUT  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 30 50:47.466 21.608 182.069 1:40.265 2  5 1:37.148
 6  6 Enrico Toccacelo 		ITA  Super Nova Racing Ltd 	30 50:49.105 23.247 181.971 1:40.387 2  7 1:37.403
 7  2 Townsend Bell 		USA  Arden International Ltd 	30 50:49.773 23.915 181.931 1:40.437 2  6 1:37.274
 8  5 Nicolas Kiesa 		DEN  Super Nova Racing Ltd 	30 50:58.386 32.528 181.419 1:40.509 2 11 1:37.932
 9 15 Yannick Schroeder 	FRA  Superfund - ISR - Charouz 	30 51:07.267 41.409 180.893 1:40.965 5 10 1:37.786
10 14 Jaroslav Janis 		CZE  Superfund - ISR - Charouz 	30 51:07.782 41.924 180.863 1:40.731 3  8 1:37.403
11  4 Zsolt Baumgartner 	HUN  Coloni Motorsport 		30 51:16.465 50.607 180.353 1:41.084 4 12 1:38.352
12 12 Michael Keohane 		IRL  Team Astromega 		30 51:22.993 57.135 179.971 1:41.119 4 13 1:38.542
13 18 Will Langhorne 		USA  BCN F3000 			30 51:43.331 77.473 178.791 1:41.081 4 15 1:38.867
14 19 Marc Hynes 		GBR  BCN F3000 			30 51:49.941 84.083 178.411 1:41.818 3 16 1:40.491
 R 11 Tony Schmidt 		GER  Team Astromega 		19 32:15.468 transm.181.489 1:40.778 2  9 1:37.758
 R 10 Raffaele Giammaria 	ITA  Durango 			11 18:47.569 spin   180.215 1:41.149 5 14 1:38.555

Race Facts And Incidents

Lap 1: Pole position qualifier and championship leader Björn Wirdheim (Arden International) makes a clean start to head Giorgio Pantano (Durango) into Copse. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull Jnr) grabs third from Ricardo Sperafico (Coloni), Patrick Friesacher (Red Bull Jnr), Enrico Toccacelo (Super Nova/Jordan), Townsend Bell (Arden International) and Jaroslav Janis (ISR Charouz).

Lap 3: Wirdheim has stretched his advantage to 0.9s – and the rest are almost three seconds further behind. Liuzzi heads a tightly-packed chain of cars that stretches back to Janis, in eighth place.

Lap 8: Raffaele Giammaria (Durango) passes Zsolt Baumgartner (Coloni) for 13th – the first passing manoeuvre since the start of the race.

Lap 9: Will Langhorne (BCN) attempts to pass Baumgartner at Abbey, but he locks up and runs wide across the gravel. He slips from 15th to 16th (aka last).

Lap 10: Wirdheim has extended his lead to 3.4s. All 16 starters are still running, which is fairly unusual at one-third distance. Series newcomer Michael Keohane (Astromega) lies 12th; former British F3 champion Marc Hynes is 15th. Keohane is only the second Irish driver to start an FIA F3000 race (after Tommy Byrne, who made a one-off appearance for Eddie Jordan Racing in the 1986 Birmingham Superprix). Hynes is racing for the first time in three years.

Lap 12: Giammaria chalks up the first retirement when he spins off while trying to usurp Keohane at Abbey. The incident delays Keohane, too, and he loses a place to Baumgartner.

Lap 15: Half-distance: Wirdheim leads by 5.1s and there’s no change elsewhere.

Lap 17: In his first race since switching from the cash-strapped Den Blå Avis team (which is not competing this weekend) to Super Nova, Nicolas Kiesa slices inside Yannick Schroeder (ISR Charouz) at Brooklands to take 10th place.

Lap 20: Tony Schmidt (Astromega) stops with a technical problem at Priory. He had been running ninth.

Lap 21: Kiesa passes Janis at Brooklands and moves up to eighth.

Lap 27: Langhorne moves into 13th place, ahead of Hynes.

Lap 30: Wirdheim wins by 8.9 seconds from Pantano. Liuzzi, Sperafico, Friesacher (his first scoring finish since the season-opener at Imola), Toccacelo, Bell and Kiesa complete the top eight. Schroeder passes Janis to take ninth. Keohane and Hynes take 12th and 14th respectively. Provisionally, Wirdheim – who has two wins and four seconds from seven starts – has stretched his series lead to 18 points with three races to go.


Round 8: Hockenheim, 2nd August


Ps  # Driver 			Nat  Entrant 			Laps Time      Gap    Kph   Best Lap On Grid Qual
 1  3  Ricardo Sperafico 	BRA  Coloni Motorsport 		33 50:25.250        179.618 1:31.112 21  1 1m29.829
 2  1  Bjorn Wirdheim 		SWE  Arden International Ltd  	33 50:28.483 03.233 179.426 1:31.098  6  3 1m29.953
 3 17  Patrick Friesacher 	AUT  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 33 50:30.744 05.484 179.292 1:31.264 11  4 1m30.012
 4 16  Vitantonio Liuzzi 	ITA  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 33 50:38.734 13.484 178.821 1:31.160  7  2 1m29.916
 5  2  Townsend Bell 		USA  Arden International Ltd 	33 50:39.941 14.691 178.750 1:31.301  6  6 1m30.389
 6 11  Tony Schmidt 		GER  Team Astromega 		33 50:43.722 16.472 178.528 1:31.564 15 10 1m31.109
 7  9  Giorgio Pantano 		ITA  Durango 			33 50:47.193 21.943 178.325 1:31.608  4  5 1m30.297
 8 14  Jaroslav Janis 		CZE  Superfund - ISR - Charouz 	33 50:59.715 34.465 177.595 1:31.257 10  8 1m30.937
 9  4  Zsolt Baumgartner 	HUN  Coloni Motorsport 		33 51:03.389 38.149 177.381 1:31.495 10  9 1m31.068
10 10  Raffaele Giammaria 	ITA  Durango 			33 51:06.549 41.299 177.199 1:31.834 12 12 1m31.315
11 15  Yannick Schroeder 	FRA  Superfund - ISR - Charouz 	33 51:07.724 42.274 177.143 1:31.908 21 11 1m31.161
12 18  Will Langhorne 		USA  BCN F3000 			33 51:44.033 78.783 175.059 1:32.594  5 13 1m32.296
13  5  Samuel Hancock 		GBR  Super Nova Racing Ltd 	33 51:45.375 80.125 174.984 1:32.622 13 14 1m32.339
14 19  Valerio Scassellati 	ITA  BCN F3000 			32 51:17.159  1 LAP 171.237 1:33.553  3 15 1m32.909
 R 12  Michael Keohane 		IRL  Team Astromega 		 2 03:20.712 transm.164.079 1:33.471  2 16 1m32.959
 R  6  Enrico Toccacelo 	ITA  Super Nova Racing Ltd 	 1 01:55.455 acc.dam 142.521             7 1m30.687

Race Facts And Incidents

Lap 1: Pole position qualifier Ricardo Sperafico (Coloni) makes a clean start and heads series leader Björn Wirdheim (Arden International) into Turn One. Front-row starter Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull Jnr) slips to third, ahead of Patrick Friesacher (Red Bull Jnr). Giorgio Pantano (Durango) is initially fifth, but Enrico Toccacelo (Super Nova/Jordan) rams him at the hairpin. Pantano drops to seventh and his assailant retires to the pits. Local driver Tony Schmidt (Astromega) moves up to fifth, from 10th on the grid, and Townsend Bell (Arden) takes sixth.

Lap 3: Bell passes Schmidt for fifth. Michael Keohane (Astromega) pulls off and retires from 12th place.

Lap 4: Liuzzi passes Wirdheim – but only for about a nanosecond. The Italian slides wide and drops to fourth, behind Wirdheim and Friesacher.

Lap 7: Jaroslav Janis (ISR Charouz) passes Raffaele Giammaria (Durango) to take ninth. William Langhorne (BCN) spins and drops from 12th to 14th – also known as last.

Lap 10: Sperafico leads by a few car lengths. The top four are covered by only 2.2 seconds.

Lap 12: Langhorne moves up a place at the expense of BCN team-mate Valerio Scassellati, who is back in action this weekend after a muscular injury forced him to miss the previous race at Silverstone.

Lap 16: Already kilometres adrift of his rivals, Scassellati spins at the Sachskurve.

Lap 20: Sperafico leads by 1.7 seconds from Wirdheim, who will clinch the title if the order remains unchanged.

Lap 27: Zsolt Baumgartner (Coloni) loses time after running wide at Turn One and Janis challenges him as they enter the Einfahrt Parabolica. The two cars touch and Janis spins, although he retains his ninth place. Baumgartner – who drove for Jordan during Friday morning’s F1 test session – presses on in eighth.

Lap 31: The recovered Janis passes Baumgartner when the Hungarian runs wide across the kerbs.

Lap 33: Sperafico scores his second win of the year, 3.2s clear of Wirdheim. The latter’s fifth second place of the season is enough, however, to make him the 19th FIA F3000 champion. He is the first Swede ever to claim the title. Friesacher, Liuzzi, Bell, Schmidt, Pantano and Janis complete the top eight.


Round 9: Hungaroring, 23rd August


Ps  # Driver 			Nat  Entrant 			Laps Time      Gap    Kph   Best Lap On Grid Qual
 1 17 Patrick Friesacher        AUT  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 35 58:02.294        158.510 1:36.809 20  3 1:36.614
 2  1 Bjorn Wirdheim            SWE  Arden International Ltd    35 58:26.040 23.745 157.437 1:37.239 11  5 1:36.649
 3  2 Townsend Bell             USA  Arden International Ltd    35 58:26.600 24.306 157.411 1:37.778 26  4 1:36.621
 4  9 Giorgio Pantano           ITA  Durango                    35 58:28.734 26.440 157.316 1:36.943 13  2 1:36.563
 5 14 Jaroslav Janis            CZE  Superfund - ISR - Charouz  35 58:29.375 27.081 157.237 1:37.436  4  7 1:36.555
 6 10 Raffaele Giammaria        ITA  Durango                    35 58:34.383 32.089 157.063 1:37.605  5 11 1:37.828
 7  6 Enrico Toccacelo          ITA  Super Nova Racing Ltd      35 58:39.794 37.500 156.821 1:38.003 16  8 1:36.879
 8 11 Tony Schmidt              GER  Team Astromega             35 58:42.257 39.963 156.712 1:38.507 20 10 1:37.272
 9 16 Vitantonio Liuzzi         ITA  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 35 58:53.593 51.899 156.209 1:37.053 22  1 1:36.092
10 19 Giovanni Berton           ITA  BCN F3000                  34 58:29.114  1 LAP 152.804 1:39.562 21 12 1:37.788
11  5 Samuel Hancock            GBR  Super Nova Racing Ltd      34 58:42.880  1 LAP 152.207 1:39.238  5 13 1:38.833
 R 18 Ferdinando Monfardini     ITA  BCN F3000                  30 52:44.361 gearbx 149.516 1:39.486 21 14 1:39.558
 R  3 Ricardo Sperafico         BRA  Coloni Motorsport          11 18:47.158 suspen 153.893 1:37.877  4  6 1:36.655
NS  4  Zsolt Baumgartner        HUN  Coloni Motorsport           0 raced F1 instead                      9 1:36.881

Race Facts And Incidents

Note: this is the first FIA Formula 3000 event to feature a mandatory tyre stop. These have been introduced on a trial basis for the final two races of the season.

Pre-race: Ninth-fastest qualifier Zsolt Baumgartner (Coloni Motorsport) is withdrawn from the event following his elevation to Formula One. Jordan chose the local favourite to deputise for the injured Ralph Firman. His departure leaves only 13 cars on the grid – this season’s smallest field.

Lap 1: First-time pole position qualifier Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull Jr) – who learned the circuit on a scooter last Thursday, because he had never been here before – gets away cleanly to lead. His team-mate Patrick Friesacher takes second after front-row starter Giorgio Pantano (Durango) makes a slow start from the dirtier side of the grid. Townsend Bell (Arden) and Ricardo Sperafico (Coloni) take third and fourth as Pantano slips to fifth. Champion Björn Wirdheim tries to pass Pantano but runs wide and drops to seventh, although he retakes Tony Schmidt (Astromega) before the end of the lap.

Lap 3: Schmidt runs wide at Turn 5 and slips from seventh to 10th.

Lap 5: Liuzzi sets the race’s fastest lap so far – a 1m 37.135s – to extend his lead to one second.

Lap 8: Sam Hancock (Super Nova/Jordan) passes newcomer Giovanni Berton (BCN) for 11th. Schmidt becomes the first FIA F3000 driver to make an official tyre stop. He rejoins 13th – aka last.

Lap 9: Wirdheim stops for tyres and rejoins 12th. Jaroslav Janis (ISR Charouz) moves up to sixth.

Lap 10: Fifth-placed Pantano stops.

Lap 11: Sperafico pits to retire with damaged left-rear suspension.

Lap 13: Toccacelo stops for tyres and drops from sixth from 11th.

Lap 15: First-timer Fernando Monfardini (BCN) pits. Sixth on the road, Hancock runs wide under pressure from Wirdheim and slips to ninth.

Lap 16: Raffaele Giammaria (Durango) comes in from fifth.

Lap 17: Bell (third) and Hancock (10th) make their stops.

Lap 18: Friesacher stops. Of the leaders, only pace-setter Liuzzi and Janis (now third) have still to come in.

Lap 19: Liuzzi and Janis press on. Berton stops for tyres. Wirdheim is now third from Pantano. Friesacher’s slowish stop has dropped him to fifth.

Lap 20: Liuzzi and Janis come in. Friesacher sets the race’s fastest lap – a 1m 36.809s.

Lap 21: With everybody having pitted, Wirdheim emerges in the lead ahead of Pantano, Friesacher, Bell, Liuzzi (a tardy stop), Giammaria, Janis, Toccacelo, Schmidt, Hancock, Berton and Monfardini.

Lap 22: Friesacher passes Pantano to take second. Berton moves up to 12th, ahead of Hancock.

Lap 25: Friesacher closes to within 0.247s of Wirdheim and applies pressure on the run down to the first turn.

Lap 27: Friesacher slips past Wirdheim under braking for the first turn.

Lap 31: Liuzzi passes Bell at the final corner and the American is forced so wide he takes to the grass.

Lap 32: Liuzzi spins at Turn 4 while trying to pass Pantano. He drops to fifth, 0.4s behind Bell.

Lap 33: Giammaria spins at turn 13 and drops from sixth to seventh. There is a huge queue building behind Wirdheim: it stretches to fifth-placed Liuzzi.

Lap 35: Friesacher scores his maiden FIA F3000 win by 23.7 seconds from Wirdheim. Liuzzi scrambles up to third, but he tangles with Pantano in the effort and Bell profits to nip past both of them. Liuzzi takes fourth, 0.1s ahead of Pantano. Janis, Giammaria and Toccacelo complete the points scorers.


Round 10: Monza, 13th September


Ps  # Driver 			Nat  Entrant 			Laps Time      Gap    Kph   Best Lap On Grid Qual
 1  1 Bjorn Wirdheim 		SWE  Arden International Ltd  	26 44:01.863  	    204.822 1:38.881 18  1 1:38.457
 2 17 Patrick Friesacher 	AUT  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 26 44:10.379 08.516 204.164 1:39.673 18  4 1:39.752
 3  3 Ricardo Sperafico 	BRA  Coloni Motorsport 		26 44:11.895 10.032 204.047 1:39.476 12  3 1:39.381
 4 16 Vitantonio Liuzzi 	ITA  Red Bull Junior Team F3000 26 44:38.834 37.021 201.991 1:40.140 23 12 1:40.170
 5 12 Jeff Van Hooydonk 	BEL  Team Astromega 		26 44:39.972 38.109 201.909 1:40.189 17  6 1:39.834
 6 11 Tony Schmidt 		GER  Team Astromega 		26 44:40.787 38.924 201.848 1:40.246 23 10 1:39.924
 7 14 Jaroslav Janis 		CZE  Superfund - ISR - Charouz 	26 44:41.044 39.181 201.828 1:40.250 14 11 1:40.063
 8  6 Enrico Toccacelo 		ITA  Super Nova Racing Ltd 	26 44:42.844 40.981 201.693 1:40.261 20  5 1:39.782
 9  4 Christian Montanari 	ITA  Coloni Motorsport 		25 44:19.276  1 LAP 195.638 1:40.674 17  9 1:39.908
10 18 Ferdinando Monfardini 	ITA  BCN F3000 			24 41:38.348    DNF 199.893 1:40.788 22 14 1:40.944
11 19 Alessandro Piccolo 	ITA  BCN F3000 			24 41:38.870    DNF 199.867 1:40.696 20 13 1:40.427
 R  9 Giorgio Pantano 		ITA  Durango 			14 23:22.808 elect. 207.337 1:39.689 13  2 1:39.308
 R 10 Raffaele Giammaria 	ITA  Durango			 3 05:25.708 acc.d. 188.671 1:41.732  2  8 1:39.881
 R  2 Townsend Bell 		USA  Arden International Ltd	 2 03:29.055 accid. 194.193 1:41.872  2  7 1:39.864 
NS  5 Samuel Hancock 		GBR  Super Nova Racing Ltd       0 practice accident                    15 1:41.075

Race Facts And Incidents

Formation laps: Having qualified 15th – and last – after skating off into the gravel yesterday, Sam Hancock’s weekend goes from bad to worse. He crashes his Super Nova Lola into the wall while attempting to enter the pits.

Lap 1: Giorgio Pantano (Durango) and Patrick Friesacher (Red Bull Jnr) beat champion Björn Wirdheim (Arden International) away from pole position, but Wirdheim regains second place before the end of the lap. Jeffrey van Hooydonk (Astromega), Ricardo Sperafico (Coloni) and Enrico Toccacelo (Super Nova) complete the top six. Van Hooydonk, Townsend Bell (Arden, seventh), Jaroslav Janis (ISR Charouz, 11th) and newcomer Christiano Montanari (Coloni, 12th) all fail to negotiate the first chicane properly.

Lap 2: Sperafico passes van Hooydonk.

Lap 3: Wirdheim drafts past Pantano to take the lead. Raffaele Giammaria tries to wrest seventh from Bell at the Parabolica and punts him into the tyre wall. Giammaria retires to the pits with suspension damage.

Lap 7: Wirdheim sets his fastest lap so far – a 1m 39.728s – to stretch his lead to 1.6 seconds. Toccacelo runs wide at the Variante Ascari and slips to seventh, behind Tony Schmidt (Astromega).

Lap 8: Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull Jnr) passes Toccacelo. Liuzzi is recovering from a lowly 12th-placed start in the wake of a qualifying accident.

Lap 9: Sperafico, Liuzzi and Janis are the first drivers to make their mandatory tyre stops.

Lap 10: Toccacelo peels in for fresh Avons.

Lap 11: Schmidt makes his compulsory stop.

Lap 12: Friesacher is first of the top three to stop. Van Hooydonk comes in, too.

Lap 14: Wirdheim and Pantano set identical 1m 39.920s laps. They are 2.6 seconds apart. Alessandro Piccolo (BCN) pits. He had been promoted to third by dint of not stopping.

Lap 15: Pantano pulls off at the first chicane with a technical problem.

Lap 16: Wirdheim finally comes in. He rejoins second – behind Fernando Manfardini (BCN), the only driver not yet to have stopped.

Lap 17: Monfardini leads from Wirdheim, Friesacher, Sperafico, van Hooydonk, Liuzzi, Schmidt, Janis, Toccacelo and Montanari – although the latter is due to serve a drive-through penalty for crossing the pit exit blend line after his scheduled stop.

Lap 18: Monfardini pits and drops to ninth. Wirdheim assumes a comfortable lead.

Lap 20: Running at the tail of the field after his penalty stop, Montanari is served with a 10s stop-go for having crossed the pit exit blend line again, this time after his first penalty stop…

Lap 24: Piccolo attempts to pass team-mate Monfardini at the first turn: they touch, spin and retire.

Lap 25: Liuzzi passes van Hooydonk for fourth.

Lap 26: Wirdheim wins by 8.5 seconds from Friesacher, Sperafico, Liuzzi, van Hooydonk, Schmidt, Janis and Toccacelo. Wirdheim is the only driver to have won three races this season. Sperafico moves up to second in the provisional final standings, two points clear of Pantano. Only nine cars are still running at the end.


Lap Charts

San Marino, Barcelona, A1-Ring, Monaco, Nürburgring, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy.

Championship Standings


Drivers' Championship Points
Ps Driver 			NAT    Pts 
 1 Bjorn Wirdheim 		SWE	78
 2 Ricardo Sperafico 		BRA	43
 3 Giorgio Pantano 		ITA	41
 4 Vitantonio Liuzzi 		ITA	39
 5 Patrick Friesacher 		AUT	36
 6 Enrico Toccacelo 		ITA	30
 7 Nicolas Kiesa 		DEN	20
 8 Jaroslav Janis 		CZE	20
 9 Townsend Bell 		USA	17
10 Raffaele Giammaria 		ITA	14
11 Tony Schmidt			GER	14
12 Yannick Schroeder 		FRA	13
13 Jeff Van Hooydonk 		BEL	 9
14 Zsolt Baumgartner 		HUN	 6
15 Rob Nguyen 			SUI	 5
16 Derek Hill 			USA	 4
17 Phil Giebler 		ITA	 1
18 Alessandro Piccolo 		ITA	 0
19 Bernhard Auinger 		AUT      0
20 Christiano Montanari 	ITA      0
21 Will Langhorne 		USA      0
22 Ferdinando Monfardini 	ITA	 0
23 Giovanni Berton 		ITA      0
24 Samuel Hancock 		GBR      0
25 Nicolas Minassian 		GBR      0
26 Michael Keohane 		IRL      0
27 Valerio Scassellati 		ITA      0
28 Gary Paffett 		GBR      0
29 Marc Hynes 			GBR      0
 - Robbie Kerr 			GBR      0
   
 
Teams' Championship Points
Ps Team				Pts 
 1 Arden International Ltd	95
 2 Red Bull Junior Team F3000	75
 3 Durango			55
 4 Coloni Motorsport 		49
 5 Super Nova Racing Ltd	35
 6 Superfund - ISR - Charouz	33
 7 Team Astromega 		23
 8 Den Bla Avis			20
 9 BCN F3000 			 5
10 Brand Motorsports 		 0