The 2001 Spa-Francorchamps F3000 round was a motor racing event held on 1 September 2001 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. It was the eleventh round of the 2001 International Formula 3000 Championship, and was held in support of the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix.
Race report Entering the weekend, Justin Wilson led the championship by 20 points from Mark Webber, with 20 points remaining. Qualifying was held in changing weather, with the best conditions coming at the end of the session. Petrobras Junior Team qualified one-two, with Ricardo Sperafico ahead of Antônio Pizzonia. Wilson qualified in third, but would be without the support of teammate Tomáš Enge at the start of the race, as he qualified ninth, with Webber between them in fifth.
The race was held in damp conditions, so the formation and first laps were completed under safety car conditions. Webber had lowered the rideheight of his car on the grid, a decision that led to him crashing in Raidillon on lap two; his car was destroyed, although he walked away with only a minor ankle injury. Pizzonia then spun behind the following safety car and dropped down the field to 15th, but was able to continue.
The race restarted on lap five, and Darren Manning briefly took third place from Ricardo Maurício, but hit a bollard later on the lap and had to replace his front wing. Two laps later, Enge overtook Marc Goossens for fourth. Further back, European Minardi F3000 teammates David Saelens and Andrea Piccini collided, eliminating both drivers from the race. On lap 17, Bas Leinders passed Patrick Friesacher to take sixth. Rain began to fall on the last lap, however, and Friesacher rear-ended Leinders, with Sébastien Bourdais passing them both to take the final point. Sperafico took his first win in F3000, with Wilson second and Maurício third. With Webber's retirement, Wilson secured the championship with one race remaining. Webber and Enge were equal on points in second and third, with fourth-placed Bourdais unable to catch them.
Classification
Qualifying PosNoDriverTeamTime/GapGrid14 Ricardo SperaficoPetrobras Junior Team2:13.129123 Antônio PizzoniaPetrobras Junior Team +0.4122310 Justin WilsonCoca-Cola Nordic Racing +1.1323418 Ricardo MaurícioRed Bull Junior Team F3000 +1.376451 Mark WebberSuper Nova Racing +1.5515617 Patrick FriesacherRed Bull Junior Team F3000 +1.6346715 Darren ManningArden Team Russia +1.7097820 Marc GoossensColoni F3000 +2.154899 Tomáš EngeCoca-Cola Nordic Racing +2.24291025 Bas LeindersKTR +2.347101121 Sébastien BourdaisDAMS +2.352111219 Fabrizio GollinColoni F3000 +2.899121311 Norberto FontanaF3000 Prost Junior Team +3.38713142 Mário HaberfeldSuper Nova Racing +3.406141522 Derek HillDAMS +3.50415168 Andrea PicciniEuropean Minardi F3000 +3.66116177 David SaelensEuropean Minardi F3000 +3.72017185 Enrico ToccaceloTeam Astromega +4.03518196 Giorgio PantanoTeam Astromega +4.108192012 Zsolt BaumgartnerF3000 Prost Junior Team +4.481202129 Gabriele LancieriDurango +5.004212226 Joël CamathiasKTR +6.355222330 Antonio GarcíaDurango +6.822232416 Viktor MaslovArden Team Russia +13.68324Source: Race PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints14 Ricardo SperaficoPetrobras Junior Team2251:48.919110210 Justin WilsonCoca-Cola Nordic Racing22 +11.58536318 Ricardo MaurícioRed Bull Junior Team F300022 +16.9824449 Tomáš EngeCoca-Cola Nordic Racing22 +18.25293520 Marc GoossensColoni F300022 +31.86582621 Sébastien BourdaisDAMS22 +32.782111725 Bas LeindersKTR22 +32.8731083 Antônio PizzoniaPetrobras Junior Team22 +33.5192922 Derek HillDAMS22 +40.159151017 Patrick FriesacherRed Bull Junior Team F300022 +47.7496116 Giorgio PantanoTeam Astromega22 +48.713191219 Fabrizio GollinColoni F300022 +50.663121312 Zsolt BaumgartnerF3000 Prost Junior Team22 +1:02.890201429 Gabriele LancieriDurango22 +1:03.122211526 Joël CamathiasKTR22 +1:04.230221630 Antonio GarcíaDurango22 +1:04.99723175 Enrico ToccaceloTeam Astromega22 +1:17.505181816 Viktor MaslovArden Team Russia22 +1:42.19424192 Mário HaberfeldSuper Nova Racing22 +1:42.75314Ret11 Norberto FontanaF3000 Prost Junior Team11Retired13Ret15 Darren ManningArden Team Russia8Retired7Ret7 David SaelensEuropean Minardi F30007Retired17Ret8 Andrea PicciniEuropean Minardi F30007Retired16Ret1 Mark WebberSuper Nova Racing1Retired5Fastest lap: Ricardo Sperafico (2:08.781 on lap 21)Source:
Standings after the event
Drivers' Championship standings Driver Points 1 Justin Wilson 65 2 Mark Webber 39 3 Tomáš Enge 39 4 Sébastien Bourdais 26 5 Antônio Pizzonia 22
Teams' Championship standings Team Points 1 Coca-Cola Nordic Racing 104 2 Super Nova Racing 42 3 Petrobras Junior Team 42 4 DAMS 26 5 Red Bull Junior Team F3000 21
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
See also 2001 Belgian Grand Prix
References