F3000 A1-Ring : Qualifying

[JPMontoya]

Tomas Enge took the first step to breaking his 2002 victory duck by setting provisional pole for the fourth round of the Formula 3000 International Championship at the A1-Ring.

The Czech set his best time mid-way through the session, and no one really got close. David Saelens had the best shot in the final minutes to pull an excellent lap out of the bag. But the European Minardi driver was still three tenths of a second off Enge.

Patrick Friesacher looks to be on form at his home circuit and currently lies third. Next up is Sebastien Bourdais, who is striving to keep up his unbeaten record in qualifying this year.

Brazilians Ricardo Mauricio and Antonio Pizzonia complete the top six. The second session report will follow shortly.

F3000, Austria, Qualifying - session 1
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Tomas Enge, Arden, 1m22.190s
2 David Saelens, European, 1m22.465s
3 Patrick Friesacher, Red Bull, 1m22.501s
4 Sebastien Bourdais, Super Nova, 1m22.509s
5 Ricardo Mauricio, Red Bull, 1m22.552s
6 Antonio Pizzonia, Petrobras, 1m22.662s
7 Giorgio Pantano, Coloni, 1m22.737s
8 Mario Haberfeld, Astromega, 1m22.744s
9 Enrico Toccacelo, Coloni, 1m23.085s
10 Zsolt Baumgartner, Nordic, 1m23.160s

autosport.com

tijden 2e sessie volgen snel !

[yvdp]

Onzen belg doeget goe hé. 2de plaats.

[Stipey]

..en in de 2de sessie teruggevallen naar 7de plaats, op 0.030s van de 2de rij.

Die vent heeft toch ook nooit geluk he :-)

[airco]

ENGE 1.22.190
PANTANO 1.22.208
TOCACELLO 1.22.327
HABERFELD TEAM ASTROMEGA 1.22.425
PIZZONIA 1.22.434
WHIRDHEIM 1.22.447
SAELENS 1.22.452
FRIESACHER 1.22.501
BOURDAIS 1.22.509
RIC SPERAFICO 1.22. 524
MAURICIO 1.22.530
NGUYEN TEAM ASTROMEGA 1.22836
RODRIGO SPERAFICO 1.22.895
BAUMGARTNER 1.23.160
MONTEIRO 1.23.252
BRISCOE 1.23.474
MULLER 1.23.679
SCHMIDT 1.23.952
ALEX SPERAFICO 1.24.080
KIESA 1.24.279

bron: team astromega press release

[airco]

FIA Formula 3000 Championship
Round 4/12, A1-Ring, Austria
Qualifying, May 10 2002
Weather: warm, sunny


Mario Haberfeld: 4th, 1m 22.425s
“This turned out a little better than I had expected, to be honest. I was only eighth after the first session and at that point I didn’t feel as though I could get much more from the car. Then we made a small change to the front end of the chassis and that brought about a big improvement. We went quicker straight away in the second session – but more importantly the car became both fast and easy to drive. We got through a lot of work – 52 laps is about one and a half race distances here – and I’m happy to be so close to the front because there isn’t much to choose between the leading drivers. This was a very close qualifying session, with only three tenths of a second covering the top 10. If I can make a good start tomorrow I think I’ll be in pretty good shape.”

Rob Nguyen: 12th, 1m 22.836s
“The team did a great job because my car was quick straight out of the box. I am starting from a slightly higher plane than usual this weekend, because the A1-Ring is the only track on this season’s schedule that I already know quite well. I still have a lot to learn, though, because the braking points in an F3000 car are very different from those in the Formula VW chassis I raced last year. I was lying in the top 10 for quite a while and it’s a shame I didn’t quite manage to stay there. I am confident I can make up a few places in the race, though. You have to be careful here because it is very slippery off the racing line, but there are still a number of good overtaking possibilities.”

Mikke van Hool, team principal
“I am very happy with our performance today. Mario repeated the form he showed in Brazil and Barcelona and proved that he is going to be a consistent front-runner this season. As for Rob, his ability to amaze me never ceases. He is by far the least experienced driver in the field, but you would never know that from watching him.”

bron: team Astromega Press release

[moore]

niet slecht een zevende plaats voor david saelens nu nog hopen dat hij morgen goed presteerd ;o)

[Porsche917]

Ja, een 7de plaats is een goeie plaats om in de punten te geraken. Vooral als Saelens weer zo'n goeie start neemt zoals in de voorbijgaande races.

[Stipey]

Inderdaad, zijn starts zijn tegenwoordig magisch ivm vroeger. Maar ik ben toch wel teleurgesteld; je maakt namelijk enkel kans op de overwinning vanaf de eerste 2 startrijen - en daar zat ie zo dichtbij... Nuja, ik zal maar niet klagen

Wie weet krijgen we ook nog regen, maar dat betwijfel ik momenteel.

[JPMontoya]

Saelens , ik krijg geen vat op hem , eerst 2e maar er toch weer in slagen om terugtevallen , das een kunst

[airco]

ENGE 1.22.190
PANTANO 1.22.208
TOCACELLO 1.22.327
HABERFELD TEAM ASTROMEGA 1.22.425
WHIRDHEIM 1.22.447
SAELENS 1.22.452
FRIESACHER 1.22.501
BOURDAIS 1.22.509
RIC SPERAFICO 1.22. 524
MAURICIO 1.22.530
*PIZZONIA 1.22.662
NGUYEN TEAM ASTROMEGA 1.22836
RODRIGO SPERAFICO 1.22.895
BAUMGARTNER 1.23.160
*MONTEIRO 1.23.379
BRISCOE 1.23.474
MULLER 1.23.679
SCHMIDT 1.23.952
ALEX SPERAFICO 1.24.080
KIESA 1.24.279

*Pizzonia and *Monteiro had two fastest laps disallowed. Pizzonia drops from
5th to 11th place on the grid. While Monteiro keep his place on the grid.

Saelens een rij naar voor door de afkeuring van de snelste ronden van Pizzonia. Alleszins toch een iets beter uitgangspositie voor morgen ...

Team Astromage heeft niet kunnen profiteren van deze ontwikkelingen ...

airco