FIA International F3000 Round 2: Silverstone (GB), 22nd April 2000

Sixth place had initially gone to the stunning teenage talent Fernando Alonso. Sadly the Spaniard was disqualified from the weekend when his Astromega Lola failed scrutineering. It was found to have two illegal bolts connecting the engine and chassis which were just 0.0065 of an inch wider than allowed. It was believed they were not manufactured by Lola, F3000's sole chassis supplier. It was yet another dire showing for the McLaren Junior team, Stephane Sarrazin qualifying 18th with Tomas Enge 20th. Enge caused a serious accident during the very wet first session. After both McLaren Junior drivers had spun earlier, the Czech driver spun again exiting Woodcote, clouting the pit wall heavily. Kevin McGarrity (Nordic) lifted off to avoid the debris bouncing back across the track, only to be hit from behind by Andrea Piccini (Kid Jensen Racing). Piccini's weekend was over while McGarrity limped back to the pits to repair his car for the second session. It was also a bad day for Imola winner Nicolas Minassian (Super Nova) who qualified down in 16th place.

F1 qualifying on the Saturday of the F3000 race held off to see Barrichello clinch pole on a consistenly drying track, and by the time the second round of F3000 was about to get underway conditions were good. Unfortunately the rain suddenly returned, a deluge leaving floods of water around the track. The start of the race was delayed and the decision made to start the race behind the safety car. The field trailed around behind Bernd Maylander in the Mercedes Safety Car for the first five laps, but all this proved too much for Fabrice Walfisch. The Astromega driver spun into the gravel at Beckett's and his day was done.

As the safety car pulled off, Darren Manning got a jump on the field and started with a good lead. Behind, Justin Wilson tried to pass Mark Webber on the inside at Copse but failed, Webber's unusually wide line providing the most grip in the conditions. Webber looked in better shape than Manning, the latter gambling on a set-up suitable for a drying track. The track remained wet for some time, however, and Webber was able to close in on Manning. He decided to go for the lead at Vale, forced by Manning to take the outside line, meaning he had the inside line going into Club. Manning shut the door only to hit Webber, the Arden car forced sideways by the passing Arrows Junior car. Webber continued, pushing Manning's car back out of its sideways moment and taking the lead. A piece of the left front-wing endplate flew off Webber's car afterwards but both cars continued.

Webber pulled out a lead but as the track dried out Manning's setup allowed him to close back up on Webber. Webber took the win just 0.9s ahead of Manning. Wilson took a steady third place for his first ever F3000 podium, with Enrique Bernoldi some way back in fourth ahead of Bruno Junqueira. Sixth went to Soheil Ayari, but it could have easily been a double celebration in the European Arrows team. Webber's teammate, fellow rookie Christijan Albers, was proving competitive in the middle of the race. Having taken Ayari into Brooklands he was chasing Junqueira for fifth when he threw it away at Chapel, spinning off at high speed onto the waterlogged grass. McLaren Junior's qualifying woes were added to in the race. Stephane Sarrazin and Tomas Enge had a succession of spins in the race and finished well down the order. It was not the start to the season Sarrazin, a championship favourite to many, needed. Nevertheless, he did set the race's fastest lap. Similarily, Imola winner Nicolas Minassian, who won here for Kid Jensen Racing last year, had a poor race to finish 11th, complaining of his car's setup. The Frenchman thus loses his championship lead to Webber, the rookie driver who had not driven in single seaters since his British F3 season of 1997. His win is also the first for an Australian driver in the category's history.

The next F3000 round is at Barcelona in two weeks time.

QUALIFYING:

(All cars Lola B99/50-Zytek). Note: Alonso set 6th fastest time before disqualification.

RACE RESULT:

(All cars Lola B99/50-Zytek)

Scoring: 10-6-4-3-2-1.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: