Spa 3000: Junqueira's crown, Alonso's victory

Somewhere in Alonso's wake, Marc Goossens just held off thwarted title-challenger Nicolas Minassian to make it a one-two for Astromega.

Junqueira didn't even finish in the points, but Minassian had to win to have any chance of beating the Brazilian to the crown.

Alonso's only worrying moment came at the start of the race. He got off the line perfectly, but slid wide out of La Source and found Goossens edging up alongside him.

The 19-year-old Spaniard settled the issue into Eau Rouge, forcing Goossens to back off and allowing Justin Wilson, David Saelens and Junqueira to all get alongside him as they approached Les Combes four abreast. Unusually for an F3000 race, all four drivers managed to get through the chicane without any hint of a pile-up. Saelens came out best to snatch second, ahead of Wilson, Junqueira and the unlucky Goossens.

By this time Alonso was already disappearing into the distance, rapidly opening up a 15s advantage and holding it to the flag.

While Junqueira ran comfortably in the points, Minassian's race began badly. He dropped a place at the start but made it back up into the top six by the end of the first lap. However, the safety car then came out after a collision left Mario Haberfeld's Fortec Lola in the pit wall. Mark Webber managed to out-fumble Minassian on the restart but then damaged his front wing and had to pit. That should have allowed Minassian a clear run at the top six, but he ran wide at La Source and had to spend another half a lap repassing the opportunist Ricardo Mauricio.

Up ahead Goossens was fighting back up the order in determined style, charging past Wilson, Junqueira and Saelens to get back into second position before half distance.

Junqueira was in a pretty obliging mood. Knowing that Minassian had to win to take the title, he was content to move aside for anyone who attempted to pass him, although he did put up a slightly more determined fight when Minassian appeared in his mirrors. He quickly dropped out of the points, somewhat optimistically assuming that Alonso was too far ahead for Minassian to catch and pass.

Once into his stride however, Minassian was proving hard to hold back. With five laps to go he was on the tail of his Super Nova team-mate Saelens and eager to take third place, eventually making it through on the outside at Les Combes. He closed in on Goossens, but ran out of time to make the pass.

The title fight detracted somewhat from a memorable first victory for Alonso. Only in his second year of car racing and on his first visit to Spa-Francorchamps, the 19-year-old was untouchable today. Goossens fought back well to take second and his first F3000 podium since 1996.

Minassian and Saelens took third and fourth for Super Nova ahead of Justin Wilson. Tomas Enge came through from row seven of the grid to take sixth place after robustly fending off Bas Leinders. The Kid Jensen Racing driver had charged up from 19th on the grid to within striking distance of a points finish. He got alongside Enge on the outside of Les Combes in the closing stages but was squeezed over the kerbs and ended up spinning into the gravel on the opposite side of the circuit.

Junqueira cruised round to finish eighth, but with Minassian only on the lowest step of the podium it was all he needed to do. Although it was a shame to see the Brazilian clinch the title with a relatively lacklustre performance, he had been the man to beat over the balance of the season and fully deserves a chance in Formula 1 or CART in 2001.

Full results to follow...