Qualifying 2: No change at the top

The Czech was so confident that his first session time would stand, he did not even bother to go out in the second. His nearest rival Sebastien Bourdais topped the times, but the Frenchman's best was still 1.4s slower than Enge's benchmark.

The combination of hot weather conditions and the fresh Formula 1 tyre rubber always makes the first five minutes of F3000 qualifying the vital time to get in your best lap. The grip levels drop off thereafter, making the second session useful mainly for heavy fuel race preparation.

For Enge, this was his second consecutive pole position at Magny-Cours. "It was exactly the same situation as last year," said the Arden driver. He ran some laps with race fuel levels at the end of the first session, and reported: "The car feels very good and is well balanced. I am looking forward to the race."

Ominous words for Bourdais and Giorgio Pantano, who will line up second and third on the grid. Bourdais said: "We were not completely on the right set-up at the very beginning of the session, but improved the time on the second set of tyres. By that time the speed of the track had gone."

Bourdais and Pantano spent the second session preparing for the race, with the Italian admitting that he could be up against it to take the fight to the two top men. His best time was 0.8s off Enge's and 0.6s off Bourdais'.

"If they are like this tomorrow I think they may be too good for me," he said.

Sebastien Bourdais Super Nova 1m26.779s
Giorgio Pantano Coloni 1m26.826s
Bjorn Wirdheim Arden 1m27.086s
Patrick Friesacher Red Bull 1m27.163s
Ricardo Mauricio Red Bull 1m27.185s
Tiago Monteiro Super Nova 1m27.342s
Derek Hill Durango 1m27.363s
Enrico Toccacelo Coloni 1m27.426s
Zsolt Baumgartner Nordic 1m27.465s
Rob Nguyen Astromega 1m27.818s