FIA International F3000 Championship
Estoril 21 September (46 laps)
After the Magny-Cours disaster the Draco team went to Braga in Portugal for testing and Ricardo found a good setup.
Arriving at Estoril Ricardo's car worked perfectly and for once he was on a European track he was familiar with as he had done some pre-season testing there. He qualified 3rd while his teammate Tuero was down in 21st position.
Qualifying:
3rd, 1:33.833 +0.288
When the light turned green Ricardo came like a rocket and passed Pescatori and Müller to grab the lead. He was followed by Müller, Bräck, Pescatori and Goossens while behind them there was a chaos and Tuero was a retirement among others. The safety car came out while the wrecks were removed. When the race continued Müller started to put pressure on Zonta. But Ricardo, leading a F3000 race for the first time, had no intention of giving in.
He had less wing than the German and could open up enough a gap on the straight to make it impossible for Müller to try anything in turn 1, the best passing place of the track. But on the other sections of the track Ricardo's car was oversteering and Ricardo was compensating by driving on the edge, sliding over the curves with the rear wheels hitting the grass. The duel went on for 5 laps, 10 laps, 15 laps, 20 laps, ... Bräck, suffering from flu, was unable to keep the pace of the duo and neither was anyone else. Still the fight for the victory continued as Müller tried harder and harder, 30 laps, 40 laps, ...
Because of the pace both drivers now had great trouble with their tyres and with 4 laps to go Müller finally gave up and settled for second leaving Ricardo to take the flag for his first F3000 triumph. There was joy in the Brazil camp with F1 drivers Barrichello and Marques joining in the celebrations.
"The win was really special for me. It was difficult at first as there were damp patches that could catch you out. I hit them several times which let Müller catch up. But I was able to stay ahead, even though my tyres were really off at theend. Its a really great feeling"
Race:
VICTORY 1:14:55.143 - 9 points
FL: 1:35.623 (1st)
Championship positions: Müller 46, Bräck 45, Goossens 27, Zonta 18 etc.