Race: Toccacelo wins as leaders clash
With five teams and five drivers sharing the wins from five rounds, the F3000 series has never looked so competitive, and the round at the Nurburgring was no exception. Enrico Toccacelo took the laurels but only after the front row, of Bjorn Wirdheim and Ricardo Sperafico, deemed it appropriate to play 'chicken' in the tight first corner
As the pair pitted, to have the egg wiped off their faces, there was no catching Super Nova's Toccacelo. "I'm very happy and I think we have the car to win another race," said Toccacelo enthusiastically. But as he dashed off into the distance, with Vitantonio Liuzzi on his tail, the action behind was far from over.
Townsend Bell and Patrick Friesacher showed what they had learned from Wirdheim and Sperafico, in a battle for third that began to resemble a go in the bumper cars at a local fair. It was bound to end in tears and the when the pair collided at the hairpin on Lap Five, the fat lady gathered up her skirts and whisked them back to the pitlane.
Nicolas Kiesa benefited from all the over-exuberance, and went on to finish third behind Liuzzi, while the battle for fourth kept the crowds fully entertained. In the end it was Yannick Schroeder who got the better of Derek Hill, but both 'won' as the fans cheered them on.
Giorgio Pantano lost a wing in the battle for sixth, and retired, leaving Janis to round out the top six. Bjorn Wirdheim came back to claim the fastest lap, a 1m49.028s, but it was all to no avail as he finished in 13th.
Full results to follow...
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