Two out of three for Heidfeld
McLaren test driver Nick Heidfeld regained the FIA F3000 Championship lead
with a dominant performance in Spain. The German led all the way in anaccident-packed race to record his second victory of the year.
"It might have looked easy," said Heidfeld, "but from where I was sitting
it was pretty tough work. The car was pretty good and I settled into a good
rhythm, but Gonzalo Rodriguez was close enough that I couldn't relax. It's
great to get the series lead back, but it's too early to start thinking
about the championship. I'm just focusing on the next race at Magny-Cours."
Heidfeld and Rodriguez finished almost a minute clear of the rest of the
field. "I'm happy to be on the podium," said Rodriguez, "because this is my
least favourite track of the year. I kept pushing all race, in case Nick
made a mistake, but there was nothing I could do. I opted to put longer
gearing in for the race and I think that was the wrong thing to do."
Max and Justin Wilson clashed while chasing third place and handed the
final podium spot to Andre Couto. Racing with an injured hand after a
recent motorcycle accident, Couto was delighted to record his first top
three finish. "I was in quite a lot of pain," he said, "but I was
absolutely determined not to give up."
Bruno Junqueira, Stéphane Sarrazin and the recovering Justin Wilson
completed the top six. Both Wilsons were called to see the stewards after
their collision and Max was excluded from the results for causing what was
described as "an avoidable accident". South Americans Norberto Fontana and
Enrique Bernoldi also lost their chances of a top six finish when they ran
into each other on lap 40.
Earlier, the first four laps of the race were run behind a Safety Car
following a series of collisions shortly after the start. Six cars were
eliminated as a consequence and reigning German F3 champion Bas Leinders
sustained a broken finger in one multi-car pile-up.
The series continues at Magny-Cours, France, on June 26.
F3000 Result from Barcelona
|
Pos |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
|
1 |
Nick Heidfeld (D) |
West |
1h:13: 16.982 |
|
2 |
Gonzalo Rodriguez (U) |
Astromega |
+ 3.002s |
|
3 |
Andre Couto (MAC) |
Gauloises |
+ 55.522s |
|
4 |
Bruno Junqueira (BR) |
Petrobras Jnr |
+ 56.760s |
|
5 |
Stéphane Sarrazin (F) |
Gauloises |
+ 58.983s |
|
6 |
Justin Wilson (GB) |
Astromega |
+ 64.470s |
|
7 |
Jamie Davies (GB) |
Euro Edenbridge |
+ 74.628s |
|
8 |
Nicolas Minassian (F) |
Kid Jensen |
+ 75.650s |
|
9 |
Kevin McGarrity (GB) |
Nordic |
+ 76.326s |
|
10 |
Soheil Ayari (F) |
Oreca |
+ 77.742s |
|
11 |
Jeffrey van Hooydonk (B) |
Witmeur KTR |
+ 78.226s |
|
12 |
Fabrizio Gollin (I) |
GP Racing |
+ 97.168s |
|
EX |
Max Wilson (BR) |
Petrobras Jnr |
+ 1 lap |
|
13 |
Tomas Enge (CZ) |
WRT Fina |
+ 1 lap |
|
14 |
Norberto Fontana (ARG) |
Fortec |
+ 2 laps |
All drivers using Lola B99/50 chassis, Zytek V8 engines and Avon tyres
Championship positions
1 Heidfeld 20
2 Rodriguez 18
3 McGarrity 6
= Watt 6
5 Sarrazin 5
6 Walfisch 4
= M Wilson 4
= Couto 4
= Junqueira 4
10 Gavin 3
11 Fontana 2
= J Wilson 2
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