The International Formula 3000 Championship was established in 1985 as the final graduation category for drivers before entering Formula One. For the year 2001, Formula 3000 has been restructured, bringing the formula ever closer to Formula One. A restricted grid of 28 cars from fourteen teams will contest the twelve race championship. This will put a greater emphasis on the two 45 minute qualifying sessions, which will be held on a Friday, opposed to two half hour qualifying sessions held in 2000.
All races in the year 2001 will be support races for Formula One in Europe plus one in Brazil, which will produce important television coverage and provide the additional marketing leverage that is associated with F1. So important is the search for talented drivers some of the Formula One teams will be using this seasons championship, to allow the up and coming drivers to experience the spectacle of a Grand Prix meeting. These Teams include Williams, Sauber, Arrows, Minardi, Prost and Benetton.
This integration to the world of F1 offers the opportunity to benefit from the powerful imagery that high class motorsport creates including PR, internal incentive programmes, advertising, 'Formula One Paddock Club Hospitality, business to business networking and increased European brand awareness.
Live coverage of the Year 2001
FIA F3000 championship will be shown during prime time on Eurosport exclusively
and delayed viewing by ITV, Channel Four, Sky in Great Britain alone not to
mention the numerous Terrestrial and Satellite channels in Europe. News is
regularly reported on Ceefax, and national press.
Car specifications:
Lola T99/50
Chassis Carbon/aluminium honeycomb
composite monocoque
Electrically operated fire extinguisher, six point seat harness
Bodywork Composite bodywork, engine cover with air box and sidepods
Front and rear wings of carbon composite construction
Front suspension Upper and lower wishbones
Spring/damper units on top of the chassis
Rear suspension Upper and lower wishbones
Brakes 4 pot radial mounted callipers, ventilated discs
Wheels Front: 13" x 10.5" - Rear: 13" x 15"
Transmission Hewland, manual 5-speed and reverse
Rapid and easy ratio changing
Track front / rear 1708 / 1594 mm
Wheel base 111" (2819 mm)
Weight min. 625 kg
Petrol tank 120 litres
Tyres Avon slicks
Zytek engine
Type Zytek KV-V8, 90°, 32 valves
Aluminium and magnesium Alloy
Capacity 2993cc
Bore x stroke 88 x 61.5 mm
Compression 13.6/1
Max. power 470 b.h.p. at 8750 rpm, limited to 9000 rpm
Max. torque 407 Nm at 7000 rpm
Min. lifetime 3200 km
Dimensions (l x w x h) 545 x 660 x 440 mm
Weight 125 kg
Fuel Elf unleaded
HISTORY/PAST WINNERS:
The FIA International Formula
3000 Championship was created in 1985 as the
final graduation category for drivers before entering Formula One. The
championship has consistently produced the emerging F 1 talent and the
majority of the Formula One grid today consists of ex Formula 3000 racers.
The Formula became a marketplace
for specialist chassis manufacturers with
Reynard, Lola, Ralt and March enjoying series success in the category's ten
year history. Teams also had to carefully consider their choice of engine
as
manufacturers vied for the market share.
1996 saw the start of a new era,
this was the first time in the series
history where the one-make chassis and engine policy had been adopted. This
year, 2000, every competitor will be driving a Lola T99/50 powered by a
Zytek V8 engine, using Avon tyres.
Championship points are scored
by the first six drivers across the line in
each race on a 10 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 basis, with all of the ten rounds
counting towards the driver's end of season championship total.
This year the Championship is
being reverted back to an entry list of 30
cars. Qualifying will be held on Friday before the raceday with two
sessions. The fastest overall 26 drivers from the two sessions will qualify
for the race in accordance with the Formula 3000 regulations.
All 10 events of this years Championship
will be run exclusively for the
second season running as a Formula One Grand Prix support race starting in
Imola and continuing with Silverstone, Barcelona, Nurbugring, Monte Carlo,
Magny Cours, Austria Hockenheim, Hugaroring and Spa Francorchamps.
FORMULA 3000 CHAMPIONS
YEAR DRIVER TEAM
1999 Nick Heidfeld West Competition
1998 Juan Pablo Montoya Super Nova Racing
1997 Ricardo Zonta Super Nova Racing
1996 Jorg Muller RSM Marko
1995 Vincenzo Sospiria Super Nova Racing
1994 Jean-Christophe Bonillion DAMS
1993 Olivier Panis DAMS
1992 Luca Badoer Crypton
1991 Christian Fittipaldi Pacific Racing
1990 Eric Comas DAMS
1989 Jean Alesi Eddie Jordan Racing
1988 Roberto Moren Bromley Motorsport
1987 Stefano Modena Onyx
1986 Ivan Capeili Genoa
1985 Christian Danner BSA
Will update from 2000 to 2001 as soon as drivers have been confirmed.
SUPER
NOVA RACING LTD
PETROBRAS JUNIOR TEAM
TEAM ASTROMEGA
EUROPEAN ARROWS F3000
COCA-COLA NORDIC RACING
GAULOISES FORMULA
ARDEN TEAM RUSSIA
RED BULL JUNIOR TEAM – RSM MARKO
COLONI F3000
DAMS
FORTEC MOTORSPORT LTD
KTR
KID JENSEN RACING
DURANGO FORMULA SRL
The D2 backed outfit has been regarded as the top team in F3000 since the mid-1990s, but for the first time in that period Super Nova is facing serious competition. The spate of F1 teams using F3000 to foster junior squads has meant that rivals to David Sears’ cars are rapidly becoming equipped with F1-standard engineering know-how and budgets to match.
David Sears had run various teams in the junior formulae before graduating to F3000 with Japanese backing as Super Nova in 1994. Though it challenged for the title in its debut year, to some the team was a disappointment. Lead driver Vincenzo Sospiri was both experienced and quick, and the Japanese ensured that the budget was never a problem. But, Super Nova suffered from the fact that Sospiri drove several races with a broken wrist, and that team mate Taki Inoue proved as ineffective in F3000 as he would in F1 with Arrows.
Sospiri stayed put for 1995, joined by Ricardo Rosset - then a rising star. The pair swept to a championship 1-2, winning five races along the way. No one else could touch the team - at least not on a consistent basis.
It looked like Super Nova was going to dominate for the forseeable future, but the team faltered in 1996. Lead driver Kenny Brack lost the title at the last minute when he hit rival Jorg Muller at Hockenheim, and number two Marcos Gueiros had been too inconsistent to pick up the pieces. Super Nova's British F2 outfit was more successful, taking a pretty easy championship with Gareth Rees.
With Ricardo Zonta and Laurent Redon in 1997, Super Nova were back on top. Redon was a slight disappointment, but Zonta, the revelation of 1996 with Draco, overcame a shaky start to the year to win the championship.
His main rival had been Juan Pablo Montoya, and when the Columbian joined Super Nova it looked like no one else had a chance. The team had reckoned without the McLaren junior team and Nick Heidfeld however, and the two had a fantastic fight for the championship. Super Nova managed to turn Montoya into a more consistent and thoughtful d river, while robbing him of none of his spectacular speed, and was rewarded with four wins and the championship. Team mate Boris Derichebourg did much to shake off his pay driver image, scoring points on several occasions.
At the start of 1999, Jason Watt seemed ready to challenge for the title, so Sears ‘promoted’ the Dane to the central Super Nova team. Ricardo Mauricio used a strong drive at Macau and some impressive tests to convince Super Nova to sign him.
Unfortunately for Mauricio, the team had been chasing David Saelens and when the driver became available, Mauricio was ‘rested’. Saelens went on to become the top scoring rookie, and finished third at Magny Cours. He was re-signed by Sears for the 2000 season.
Having settled in F3000 after a difficult season at McLaren, Frenchman Nicolas Minassian won Kid Jensen’s first race in its inaugural season. He gets his big break at Super Nova in 2001, and may prove ready for a championship challenge. With as strong a driver pairing as it has seen for years, Super Nova is itching to get back on terms with the junior F1 squads.
After the British Formula 2 Championship collapsed at the end of 1997, F3000 frontrunner Super Nova found itself with the capacity to run a satellite team, using the personnel from its UK effort.
Although the idea had long been suggested, the project only came together at the last minute when Jason Watt finally found the sponsorship for a full F3000 season. Bearing the name of his backers, motoring magazine Den Bla Avis, the new outfit was rapidly on the pace.
Watt managed to demolish the car in an enormous accident in Helsinki, but that setback was quickly overcome, and the team scored its first victory in a brilliant race at Spa, Watt fending off Max Wilson in a tense last lap battle. A month later at Mugello, the worth of having a satellite team became apparent, as Watt was able to hold up the pack while Super Nova team mate Ricardo Zonta won the race and the championship.
Den Bla Avis expanded to two cars in 1998, with Gareth Rees joining Watt. Both had disappointing seasons, often languishing way down the grid for no fathomable reason. The Dane had looked like a good bet for the title after his very strong form in the early races, but he fell off the pace in the second half of the year and ended up a disappointing fourth overall. His team mate Rees was only a contender in his home race at Silverstone, never finished above fourth and was often a long way behind Watt.
The team remained the same for 1999, but the name and backers changed. Jason Watt moved to Super Nova, so the team became the Petrobras Junior Team – in effect a young drivers’ training/evaluation ground for the Williams F1 team. The Brazilian fuel company wanted a team for its rising star drivers Bruno Junqueira and Max Wilson, both of whom performed brilliantly, if erratically in 1999.
Wilson was unlucky not to come second in the season opener, and Junqueira came on strong in the second half of the season, to the extent that, although Williams did not choose him as a full-blown F1 driver in 2000, he must be regarded as F3000 title favourite.
Jaime Melo Jr is to be Wilson’s replacement, having arrived fresh from SudAm F3 like a good many of his predecessors in the series.
Mikke van Hool formed Astromega in 1995 so that he could run himself in the international F3000 series. Although Van Hool rarely progressed beyond the midfield, the team has improved dramatically since then, signing some top drivers and regularly challenging for wins.
Fellow Belgian Marc Goossens joined the team in 1996. Initially, the package was off the pace, but by mid-season Goossens was the only man capable of challenging title rivals Kenny Brack and Jorg Muller on a consistent basis. A pair of dominant wins at Enna and Magny-Cours took him to third in the championship. His best drive came on home ground at Spa. Running second behind Muller when it started raining, Goossens began to lap several seconds faster than the leader, passing him in the middle of Eau Rouge. But no sooner had he done that than the race was red-flagged, dropping Goossens to second on count-back.
Astromega became the surprise destination for runaway French F3 Champion Soheil Ayari in 1997. The team had some problems finding a workable set-up and Ayari could be impetuous on occasion, but he still took a spectacular win in Helsinki, diving past Oliver Tichy to take the lead with one of the most outrageously brave moves of recent years. Apart from that however, he scored a mere two points.
While Ayari switched to the less
competitive Durango team for 1998, Astromega signed Uruguayan Gonzalo Rodriguez,
who had raced so well for the low-budget Redman & Bright team in 1997.
Rodriguez was the revelation of the season. Previously inconsistent and erratic,
he was quick everywhere. Rodriguez should have won at Imola but for a contentious
jump start penalty, but he made amends with victories at Spa and the Nurburgring.
Those results gave Rodriguez third overall in the 1998 Championship, and he
remained with Astromega for 1999, joined by Palmer-Audi champion Justin Wilson.
Rodriguez was immediately on the pace, winning from pole in round two. Wilson also impressed with his first F3000 points for sixth place on his first race in the category. The Uruguayan remained the only serious challenger to Nick Heidfeld throughout most of the season, and caught the attention of Champ Car outfit, Penske, which offered him an occasional seat in the CART series when his F3000 commitments allowed.
Tragically, Rodriguez was killed in practice for a CART race at Laguna Seca before the last round of the F3000 championship. Even so, Jason Watt was only able to overhaul Rodriguez for second in the final round, an achievement that brought mixed feelings from the Dane.
The team takes Formula Nissan graduate Fernando Alonso as lead driver after the young Spaniard tested impressively with the Minardi F1 team, and Fabrice Walfisch moved to Astromega after an occasional good result at Draco. Unfortunately, Walfisch left the team after poor results and arguments over the quality of the chassis he was using. He was replaced by Astromega old-hand Marc Goossens, whose experience should help the team avoid relegation.
The new Arrows F1 Junior team has grown out of the Edenbridge racing squad, and the team will begin a new chapter in its history this season. It had a fairly unimpressive season last year as European Edenbridge, but with the significant sponsorship deals that come with their link-up this year, the European Arrows squad can expect to be rise to the top.
The Edenbridge team graduated from F3 into F3000 at the end of 1995 after taking the title with Oliver Gavin, stealing the championship from under the noses of Ralph Firman and Paul Stewart Racing. Until last year, this was the only time that PSR had been beaten to a British F3 title since 1991, and when the team arrived in F3000, they continued their success, running at the front almost immediately.
During its first season in F3000, Edenbridge used a variety of drivers, basically depending on who had the right amount of money at the right time. Whenever possible, the cash-strapped Dane Tom Kristensen drove for them, and scored some excellent results despite being on a race-by-race deal. The following year, Edenbridge ran with Brazilian Max Wilson. They made a slow start to the season as Wilson found his feet, but by the early summer they were in the points and challenging for the podium. Again the team failed to win a race, but came near at Hockenheim and Spa, when they finished a close second on both occasions. Hopes were high for 1998, but although Wilson was tipped as a title challenger, a series of mistakes and lacklustre performances saw him fall way short of the mark.
A late injection of cash from Paul Stoddard and his European Aviation company meant Edenbridge became European Edenbridge and, running British racers Jamie Davies and Oliver Gavin, looked in very good shape going into 1999. A lack of pre season testing held the team back, and although Davies finished just out of the points in early season races, the team faded, and his team-mate Gavin rarely figured.
For 2000, the team has enlisted the Arrows F1 squad to assist them in their headlong pursuit of the big time. As a result, Arrows' Australian test driver Mark Webber joins the team, and along with second driver Christijan Albers, the team look a good bet to compete at the top.
Stalwart F3000 team, Nordic, has often been on the brink of the big time but has never managed to make that final step up to become a regular winner. Some of the team's finest results came in 1994 and 1995. Struggling with the less than competitive Lola chassis, Marc Goossens shone on a tight budget, finished third in the championship in 1995.
Since then, the need to take drivers with funding has meant the team’s expertise has often gone to waste, but there have been some definite high spots. Portugal’s Rui Aguas took the team to the front on occasion in 1997, finishing 10th in the championship.
Fast and determined, Aguas was also wild, and team boss Derek Mower was hardly amused when his driver pushed Tom Kristensen off the track and into the barriers at 180mph on the opening lap of the Hockenheim race.
Brian Smith impressed in the first few races of 1998, but his budget didn’t last long enough for him to gain the experience that would have made him a race winner. Kevin McGarrity replaced Smith and took a brilliant fourth at Hockenheim before his cash supply also ran dry. McGarrity stayed on for 1999 when contractual difficulties prevented him lining up at Kid Jensen Racing. An early lead at the season opener at Imola, translated to second place for the Ulsterman, though once again budgetary problems prevented him from completing the season.
For 2000, Nordic returns with an impressive looking, all-British line up. McGarrity returns once more, looking ever more secure, while Justin Wilson moves from Astromega.
Formerly known as Apomatox, the Gauloises team is the Prost Formula 1 team's junior squad.
Dominique Delestre’s team was not regarded as a frontrunner until Franck Lagorce joined from DAMS in 1994, in a straight swap with former Apomatox driver Jean-Christophe Boullion. Two victories left Lagorce sharing the points lead with PSR’s Gil de Ferran when they came to the final round at Magny Cours, but both were beaten at the last hurdle by Boullion, whose inspired run of three consecutive victories made up for the messy start to his year.
Apomatox signed two more Frenchmen for 1995, Emmanuel Clerico and Jean-Philippe Belloc. Both were quick, but never quite got it together, and didn’t get on particularly well. There were some controversial incidents but no wins.
Continuing to develop French talent, Christophe Tinseau took Apomatox to victory in the final round of the 1996 series, but only after Kenny Brack was disqualified. Indeed Tinseau’s rookie team mate Cyrille Sauvage often looked the better prospect.
The team had never regained its 1994 form, but it was still a surprise that it struggled so badly in 1997. Belloc returned to the team alongside Fabrizio Gollin, but after a handful of unimpressive performances, both left. Belloc headed for American racing, Gollin headed home with no money. Delestre wisely decided not to hunt around for more funded drivers and pulled his team out of the series.
Returning in 1998 with Stephane Sarrazin and Marcelo Battistuzzi, Apomatox had an up-and-down year. At its best, the team was a frontrunner with Sarrazin, winning at Oschersleben, but there were also occasions when Battistuzzi failed to make the grid.
With Prost backing, and a more
experienced Sarrazin leading the team, Gauloises Junior was well-placed to
cement its position as a frontrunner in 1999. Sarrazin was loaned to the Minardi
F1 team for the Brazilian Grand Prix, and put in an impressive performance.
However, the Frenchman had to wait until the Hungarian round of the championship
to repeat his 1998 win.
Battistuzzi was replaced by Andre Couto, but the 22-year-old suffered a serious road accident before the Monaco round which severely damaged his season. In addition, Couto was removed from the grid at the Nurburgring round after his car was found to be underweight. However, Gauloises demonstrated its loyalty to Couto by signing him again for 2000.
The team has signed French F3 champion Sebastien Bourdais to partner Couto for the 2000 season, as part of the team’s commitment to advance the careers of young hopefuls, particularly those from France.
The collaboration with successful motorsport operation, Prodrive, funded by Russian oil giants LukOil didn’t have opportunity to gel in 1999, but with time for the operation to settle, and the talents of Britain’s Darren Manning, expect Arden to start looking very much more professional.
Formed as a means of taking Christian Horner from British F3 to F3000 in 1997, Arden achieved little initially - struggling even to qualify. Horner generally made the finish of the races but inspired drives were few and far between. However, a sensible performance in the season finale at Jerez did yield a point.
It was a similar story in 1998,
but the team did reach the front of the grid when it gave technical support
to Kurt Mollekens’ KTR team. The Belgian actually led the championship in
the early stages after a pair of podium finishes, and was on the pace for
most of the year.
Horner stepped into team management, as LukOil used the team as part of its
quest to develop Russian motorsport. Leading Russian driver Viktor Maslov
was forced to use 1999 as a learning year. The signing of Marc Goossens looked
to be a major boost – as did technical support from Prodrive.
Unfortunately, in the ruck of pre-qualifying and the midfield, Arden continued to look somewhat ordinary, and as the end of the season approached no points finishes had been recorded. At round 8 in Hungary, however, all that seemed set to change when Goossens inherited third place and crossed the line in that position. Hours later, however, joy turned to anguish when a shock absorber on the Belgian’s car was adjudged illegal. This dropped the team right back into the struggle for relegation from the series, as only the top 15 teams – plus the winner of the Italian F3000 series – would be allowed to enter for the next series.
Sneaking in through the back door however, Arden demonstrated their unwillingness to be sidelined, by buying out a share of the Draco team, and hence the ability to run in the series. Lead car will be driven by British and Japanese F3 star Darren Manning, who ought to set the team on winning ways. Maslov returns for a second season
RED BULL JUNIOR TEAM – RSM MARKO
The Red Bull Junior team is the new guise of former F3000 champions RSM Marko. Former F1 driver Helmut Marko had run his team successfully in the German Formula 3 Championship for several years and decided to graduate to the higher category in 1996. One title, five wins and two seasons later, Marko left for America and the Indy Racing League. Now he’s back, with Red Bull support and the exciting prospect of British F3 runner-up Enrique Bernoldi leading the team.
Little was expected when former German F3 Champion Jorg Muller returned from a year in touring cars to join Marko’s new F3000 squad in 1996. With the budget for the season far from in place, the plan was to race until the money ran out, but when the results came, so did the sponsorship. Muller not only saw out the season, he won the championship in fine style.
Stuck with a rogue chassis for much of the year, the German drove brilliantly, winning at Pau and Spa. He was on the podium everywhere except Silverstone, where his car failed on the first lap, and in the Hockenheim finale, where he was pushed off the road by title rival Kenny Brack. The Swede’s disqualification gave Muller the title. Team mate Oliver Tichy took second in that race, and had driven well all year.
The spectacular Columbian Juan Pablo Montoya joined the team for 1997, backed up by Australian touring car star Craig Lowndes. The latter struggled. Running without a race engineer for much of the season made it hard for Lowndes to adapt from saloons to single-seaters.
But, while his team mate floundered, Montoya took the fight to Ricardo Zonta and finished second in the championship by just 1.5 points. The Montoya-Marko relationship was always a difficult one. Marko questioned Montoya’s fitness, and his flat-out approach to racing that saw him either dominate events or demolish cars. The Columbian had won three races, but could easily have doubled that tally.
At the end of that season, Helmut Marko quit F3000 for the Indy Racing League. After only a handful of unsuccessful IRL outings, Marko’s team closed its doors. But in 1999, it made a comeback under the Red Bull Junior banner, with the energy drink manufacturer providing the budgetary security Marko had always lacked.
Unfortunately, with Enrique Bernoldi and Markus Freischander failing to trouble the scorers all season, Marko was only allowed to enter for the 2000 season in place of the absentee ORECA squad.
The fast, but wild, Bernoldi returns for a second season in F3000, and will be teamed up with Super Nova refugee Ricardo Mauricio.
The Italian Coloni team has become well known as a successful F3000 outfit, and less charitably, as a spectacularly unsuccessful F1 manufacturer. Attempting to break into the top league in the late '80s with drivers such as Nicola Larini and Roberto Moreno, Enzo Coloni’s outfit rarely looked anywhere near the pace.
In 1988, the team was forced to build a new car after the stewards refused to let it use a modification of the 1987 chassis, and in 1989 things were little better. Further controversy was caused when an Italian shoe magnate, Andrea Sassetti, bought part of the team and formed the Andrea Moda unit, which was later refused an entry to the F1 championship.
Coloni was back for 1990 powered by the Subaru boxer engine project, which even the talents of Bertrand Gachot couldn’t drag to through pre-qualifying. The 1992 season was to be the team’s last year in the top flight, but Formula Nippon graduate Naoki Hattori failed to qualify for all the races the team entered. The team wound up shortly afterwards.
It looked like the end, but a return to F3000 brought about some better results, though there was still little money. The answer took until 1999 to arrive. Coloni had been struggling to get results in the FIA F3000 championship when the Italian national series was announced in tandem with a similar series in Britain. The UK3000 championship never got off the ground, due to a number of fully-funded drivers being stolen away by FIA F3000 teams, but the Italian series went ahead, bolstered by the refugees from the non-starting British championship.
One of these teams was Martello Racing, which had forged an enviable reputation in Formula Renault Sport. Taking the opportunity to run in a top line championship – using 1996 spec Lola F3000 cars pensioned off by the FIA series – for relatively little cash, Martello decided to link up with an established team. Coloni seemed the obvious choice.
When the decision was made to limit entry to the FIA Formula 3000 Championship for the 2000 season, Coloni looked like one of the potential casualties. A lifeline was presented in the shape of the ‘promotion’ clause; the winning team from the Italian Championship would gain a place in the FIA series.
Coloni failed to score any points in the main series – the highest result for any of the four drivers that attempted to qualify with the team was a ninth place at the A1-Ring for Polo Villaamil - but the Italian national squad allied to Martello swept to the Italian title.
A further boon was granted when Martello managed to attract ORECA refugee Soheil Ayari to the team for 2000. The Frenchman should instil a vast amount of experience in the category. Martello’s engineering prowess, Coloni’s experience and Ayari’s pace should have pushed the team closer to the front runners. However, the team continued to be beset by problems, and Ayari left Coloni with his engineer after team and driver lost faith in each other.
DAMS is the most successful team in F3000 history, winning both titles and races in the past and helping many of the top French drivers who have reached F1 in the past decade. Since taking the 1993 and 1994 Championships with Olivier Panis and Jean-Christophe Boullion, the team has struggled to be consistently competitive.
Brazilian Tarso Marques kept the team at the front in 1995, but 1996 was a disaster. DAMS appeared baffled by the switch to a one-make formula and struggled to get a decent set-up for the Lola T96/00. Lead driver Jean-Philippe Belloc hardly helped, crashing out of almost every race, although team mate Laurent Redon had some strong drives and was eighth in the championship.
The following year saw something of an improvement in the team’s fortunes. New signing Jamie Davies was instantly on the pace, charging from 24th on the grid to third place in the opening round at Silverstone, and leading easily until he clipped a wall in Helsinki. He managed another podium finish at Pau and ran away with the race at Enna-Pergusa. But there were also occasions when it simply couldn’t get its set-up to work, leaving Davies languishing way down the grid. Zeltweg and Spa were especially miserable weekends, as was Mugello, where both DAMS drivers were disqualified for missing the drivers’ briefing.
Having only lost the title through poor luck in 1997, many expected Davies to make amends and take the championship last season. In the end, the DAMS was in even worse trouble than before. Again it failed to get a decent set-up, and only in the wet or on street circuits did Davies look like a frontrunner. A distant 10th in the points was poor reward, while team mate Gregoire de Galzain achieved little and was usually at the very back of the field.
DAMS has tried to move on from F3000 on several occasions. At the end of 1995, it unveiled its own F1 car, which never actually made it to a grand prix, while a bid to enter CART in 1997 failed when it couldn’t get hold of the Honda engines its sponsors wanted.
Instead DAMS expanded into sportscars, running a Panoz in the FIA GT series for two seasons, then running a Lola in the International Sports Racing Series alongside its F3000 programme.
In 1999, DAMS signed up-and-coming Frenchmen Franck Montagny and David Terrien. However, the team was again beset by problems, though Montagny finished on the podium in Hungary. Terrien only finished once in the points, and the team looks a shadow of its former self. For 2000, Montagny is to be joined by F3 star Kristian Kolby, who should help the team return to winning ways.
Founded in 1990, Fortec Motorsport has built an enviable record throughout the slicks-and-wings ranks. In its first season the team stormed to the Formula Renault Championship, a feat it repeated the following year before stepping up to F3. Two wins and third overall showed the team's potential and the team continued to take race wins in four out of the next five seasons.
Signing Guy Smith and Juan Pablo Montoya for 1996, Fortec had one of its most successful years ever, but both drivers were held back by the deficiencies of the HKS Mitsubishi engine.
When Montoya moved on to F3000, Fortec replaced him with his equally crazy friend Brian Smith but the HKS power plants were even less competitive and after a frustrating season the team switched to Mugens.
Despite a very talented driver pairing in Kristian Kolby and Andrej Pavicevic, 1998 became Fortec’s first winless season since it entered F3. Nevertheless, the team pressed ahead with its plans to expand into Formula 3000, moving to a new factory and signing F1 refugee Norberto Fontana for the new team.
Pavicevic graduated with the team, although only having one season's experience in single-seaters was probably not enough. The Australian made rapid progress in F3, but was out of his depth.
Meanwhile, Fontana had plenty of top level experience from Formula Nippon, F3000 and F1, but the Argentine driver didn’t look enormously impressive in his handful of F1 races for Sauber, and Fortec lacked F3000 experience. The 1999 season proved trying with the inexperienced Pavicevic rarely making it through pre-qualifying. Fontana also failed to impress, only occasionally breaking into the top ten.
After an impressive test, Mario Haberfeld was signed to lead the team in 2000. Haberfeld put in the fastest time in a test session at Jerez, and looks to be rebuilding his career. He will be partnered by Andreas Scheld, who moves from the German Touring Car Championship.
Belgian Kurt Mollekens was a very fast driver in Formula 3, but his main problem always seemed to be a lack of faith in his own ability. This is illustrated by the fact that he has now retired from active competition to try and find a new Belgian star, even though he was more than quick enough himself.
The Mollekens family formed KTR in 1997 to take Kurt from F3 into F3000. The campaign got off to the worst start possible at Silverstone, where Mollekens was excluded for missing the drivers’ briefing. The Belgian was often to be found in the lower half of the field, but impressed on occasion, notably at Hockenheim when he came from the back of the grid to sixth place.
The following season was a totally different story. KTR joined forces with the fledging Arden outfit and Mollekens was instantly on the pace. Finishing second at Imola and Catalunya, he even held the points lead briefly. The season went downhill after that, especially in mid-summer when Mollekens was at the centre of an enormous accident at Hockenheim. His rib and neck injuries kept him away from Hungary, and then he suffered the blow of failing to qualify for his home race at Spa, thanks to a series of gearbox failures in qualifying.
By then, it was already clear to Mollekens that his future lay in team management, and he stepped aside to allow KTR to become a stepping stone for promising young Belgian drivers on the way to F1. The first year of this programme saw the highly-rated Bas Leinders leading the team, backed up by former Formula Renault EuroCup champion Jeffrey van Hooydonk. Unfortunately, it never really came together. Leinders was involved in a series of first lap incidents, and van Hooydonk was little better, with a fourth his best finish. Leinders left the team early in the new year for Kid Jensen racing.
Jeffrey Van Hooydonk stays on partnered by F3 graduate Yves Olivier, demonstrating Mollekens’ commitment to nurturing Belgian talent on the racetrack.
KJR burst onto the F3000 scene in 1999, scoring a win in its first season, and only its second season of car racing.
However, KJR’s first racing experience was a less than positive one. Only formed at the beginning of the 1998 season, the plan was to spend a year learning in the Formula Opel Euroseries before graduating to F3000 in 1999 when the new chassis was introduced.
Jensen signed a promising pair of drivers, Britons Darren Malkin and Matt Bettley, but both would leave the team even before the first race. Experienced American Elton Julian didn’t stay long either, while Formula Ford graduate Tom Guinchard made little impression.
The only driver who got the Budweiser liveried KJR car to the front was the under-rated Stuart Moseley, who joined halfway through the season and challenged for podiums. His eventual result of 12th in the championship was an impressive performance given his limited campaign.
Despite those frustrations, Kid Jensen Racing remained optimistic about its chances in its rookie season in F3000. Andrea Piccini replaced original signing Kevin McGarrity due to a contractual problem, and took time to get up to speed having come straight from Formula Opel. Minassian was on the pace straight away, however, humbling many more experienced names and only losing a win in Monte Carlo because of a late mechanical failure.
He was repayed in Great Britain when he led every lap from pole in the British GP support race. Signing Belgian star Bas Leinders alongside Piccini for 2000 should allow the team to build on its success.
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