MAY 20, 2003

Montagny does it again (and again)

Renault F1 test driver Franck Montagny continued his domination of the Superfund World Series by Nissan by winning two more races at Magny-Cours last weekend, despite very wet conditions. Montagny, who drives for Gabord Competicion, took the lead at the Adelaide hairpin on the first lap of the first race and drove away from poleman Bruce Jouanny (Carlin Motorsport) to win the 17-lap race by a remarkable 41 seconds. Former Toyota F1 test driver Stephane Sarrazin (Racing Engineering) was on his way to second place when he went off into the gravel in with three laps to go, leaving Saulnier Racing's Bruno Besson to take second and Polo Villaamil (RC Motorsport) third.

In the second race Montagny led from start to finish while Carllin Motorsport's Narain Karthikeyan charged up and grabbed second, banging wheels with Enrique Bernoldi (GD Racing). The Indian later slipped back behind Sarrazin and Besson who went on to fight a lengthy battle for second place from which Sarrazin emerged ahead. His team mate Bas Leinders ended up fifth behind Karthikeyan, while Renault-supported Finn Heikki Kovalainen (Gabord Competition) was sixth.

Williams test driver Marc Gene did not finish either race and so Montagny's lead in the championship has increased dramatically.