Hockenheim test, day 1: Nordic dominates
The Nordic Racing outfit underlined its status as the team to beat in the International Formula 3000 Championship as standings leader Justin Wilson led home team mate Tomas Enge on the first day of official testing at Hockenheim on Wednesday
Wilson, who leads the championship by 11 points from Monaco winner Mark Webber, set the fastest time by 0.136s ahead of Enge and the Nordic pair were the only drivers to dip below the two minute barrier.
Antonio Pizzonia has had a disappointing start to his maiden F3000 campaign, but the reigning British Formula 3 champion showed his pace at the German circuit by taking third place.
Webber finished the day fourth and felt pleased with the progress made as teams prepare themselves for the Hockenheim round of the series at the end of July.
"It has been a productive day of testing," said Webber. "We're learning a few things about the Hockenheim circuit and also for some other tracks, but it is hard to know what happens at this particular circuit because of the slipstreams."
Andrea Piccini took sixth spot for the European Minardi team ahead of Astromega's Giorgio Pantano. The German Formula 3 champion has failed to impress so far this season and has yet to score a single point. Despite a run of bad lack, the Italian's pace has clearly not been diminished any after going sixth fastest.
Mario Haberfeld finished seventh in the second Super Nova car blaming his slower pace on not getting a sufficient tow on his fastest lap down the German Grand Prix track's long straights.
Britain's Darren Manning, who qualified third in Monte Carlo, rounded out the top 10, while Ulsterman Dino Morelli finished 21st in the second Astromega Lola.
Justin Wilson, Nordic, 1m59.739s
Tomas Enge, Nordic, 1m59.895s
Antonio Pizzonia, Petrobras, 2m00.023s
Mark Webber, Super Nova, 2m00.054s
Andrea Piccini, European Minardi Junior Team, 2m00.193s
Giorgio Pantano, Astromega, 2m00.448s
Mario Haberfeld, Super Nova, 2m00.451s
Ricardo Sperafico, Petrobras, 2m00.536s
Fabrizio Gollin, Coloni, 2m00.651s
Darren Manning, Arden, 2m00.714s
Patrick Freisacher, Red Bull Junior Team, 2m00.776s
Bas Leinders, KTR, 2m008792s
Rodrigo Sperafico, Coloni, 2m01.106s
David Saelens, European Minardi Junior Team, 2m01.123s
Ricardo Mauricio, Red Bull Junior Team, 2m01.486s
Jaime Melo, Durango Formula, 2m01.722s
Stephane Sarrazin, Prost Junior Team, 2m01.753s
Sebastien Bourdais, DAMS, 2m01.775s
Gabriele Lancieri, Durango Formula, 2m01.958s
Viktor Maslov, Arden, 2m01.997s
Dino Morelli, Astromega, 2m02.149s
Joel Camathias, KTR, 2m02.315s
Derek Hill, DAMS, 2m02.437s
Gabriele Varano, Prost Junior Team, 2m02.733s
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