JULY 12, 2004

Liuzzi's fifth win in six races

Vitantonio Liuzzi started the season as the favourite to win the FIA International Formula 3000 Championship but his success this year has been much more stunning than anyone expected it to be and with each new victory Liuzzi's name is being heard more and more in the Formula 1 paddock.

Liuzzi has won five of the six races so far this year, the only failure being at the Nurburgring where his car was damaged on the first lap and he had to pit. He charged back through the field in impressive style but was in no position to challenge for the victory. He has won all the other races. The best record in Formula 3000 history was previously that of Luca Badoer who in 1992 scored four wins in six races while another Italian Emanuele Naspetti still holds the record for the most consecutive wins with a run of four victories in 1991. The way things are going, however, all the records will be out of the window this year so long as Liuzzi remains focussed on the task and not on moving into F1. At the moment there is believed to be interest from Jaguar Racing and from Sauber but there may be other teams taking a look if the current winning streak continues.