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Davies makes F3000 return

British driver Jamie Davies made his first racing start in over six months last Sunday, when he stood in for the injured Mario Haberfeld at the Nurburgring F3000 round

Davies was forced to watch while the possibility of a dream result was wrenched from his grasp - a result that almost fell into the lap of his team mate Andreas Scheld.

"The team managed to get Scheld out ahead of the safety car, which made the gamble to go to wets early work. When I went to exit the pits they wouldn't let me out until the safety car was past, so I was automatically a lap down, and as soon as that happens, you're screwed," said the Somerset driver.

After a first lap shunt, both cars came into the pits for repairs and decided to change to wet tyres, just as the safety car period began.

"My car was basically destroyed," said Davies. "It was a huge smash in the side of the car, and it was just about destroyed for the whole race. The sidepod was shattered, you could see the engine through it. It creased the exhaust as well, so we were down on power.

"It was certainly an interesting race after that."

The decision to fit wet tyres elevated Scheld from the back to the lead of the race, after the front runners were forced to pit for wets under green flag. Scheld finished second on the road, but was disqualified on a technicality (see separate story).

Unfortunately, with Davies a lap down, his early change could not benefit him.

Even so, he was able to bring the distinctly second-hand looking Lola home in ninth, which became eighth after Scheld's disqualification.

However, Davies describes the extension of the deal to the Monaco event as "close", and is looking forward to making amends at the prestigious race.

"It's not looking too bad for Monaco, as I've had some good results there," he said "I was third their with DAMS in '98, but last year the car wasn't particularly very good. And you can always make something up at Monaco."

"I know the team, and they do a good job. The car's quite good at the moment, we just need to work on the set up to suit my particular driving style. It's got grip, we just need to sort the balance out," he added.


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