A1-Ring: Sperafico all the way

The Coloni driver led every lap of the race, although he was never able to relax as championship favourite Bjorn Wirdheim stalked him for the entire race distance starting from second on the grid. However, the Swede was unable to find a way past and settled for his third podium finish in as many races and eight more points for his championship campaign.

Giorgio Pantano claimed third after battling his way up from fifth on the grid. The Durango driver, who won the last round of the championship in Barcelona, passed both Vitantonio Liuzzi and Townsend Bell en route to the bottom step of the podium.

Liuzzi hung on to finish fourth ahead of Enrico Toccacelo and Nicolas Kiesa. American Bell faded as the race progressed, and eventually wound up seventh, ahead of countryman Philip Giebler.

It was a relatively incident free race, although newcomer Bernhard Auinger did his best to make an impression for the Red Bull Junior team. Unfortunately, he chose to make an impression on Derek Hill, knocking the American's front wing off after the pair clashed.

Ricardo Sperafico Coloni
Bjorn Wirdheim Arden
Giorgio Pantano Durango
Vitantonio Liuzzi Red Bull Junior
Enrico Toccacelo Jordan Grand Prix Junior
Nicolas Kiesa Den Bla Avis
Townsend Bell Arden
Philip Giebler Den Bla Avis
Jaroslav Janis ISR Charouz
Zsolt Baumgartner Coloni