APRIL 28, 2002

Pantano's star rises further

Enzo Coloni used to own a Formula 1 team but he went out of the business in the last recession and since then has been running cars in the International Formula 3000 series albeit without any major success.

ENZO COLONI used to own a Formula 1 team but he went out of the business in the last recession and since then has been running cars in the International Formula 3000 series albeit without any major success. In Barcelona, however, "Il Lupo" (The Wolf), as he is known, finally scored his first victory thanks to a brilliant drive by rising star Giorgio Pantano. Pantano qualified third behind Sebastien Bourdais (Super Nova Racing) and Tomas Enge (Arden International) but quickly overtook the Czech driver and then spent 30 laps pressuring Bourdais. The Frenchman did a good job to soak up the pressure although things became more difficult as his tires went off. On the last lap Pantano suckered Bourdais into making a mistake, dodging and weaving to such an extent that Bourdais was looking in his mirrors rather than at the track ahead and the Frenchman slid off.

The victory was a sweet one for Pantano who lost his Super Nova drive at the last minute before the start of the season to Portugal's Tiago Monteiro.

It is worth noting that the Super Nova cars now feature Renault branding for the first time.