16 September 2001

FIA International Formula 3000 - Monza (pictures here)

Giorgio Pantano wowed his home fans with a stunning performance in the final round of this year's FIA International Formula 3000 Championship.

Giorgio lined up third after a shortened, 20-minute qualifying session that took place immediately before the race, because a violent electric storm the originally scheduled sessions were cancelled.

After qualifying third he made a brilliant start and was challenging pole position winner Antonio Pizzonia (Petrobras Jnr) as they headed down to the first chicane. Pizzonia then swept across and forced Pantano on to the grass. "That was a crazy move," Pantano said. "I thought he was completely out of order." The incident dropped Giorgio down the field, but he avoided a multiple pile-up at the first corner and that allowed him to recover several places. He completed the opening lap in fifth position - although the Safety Car was sent out to allow accident debris to be cleared. Pantano moved up to fourth by passing Ricardo Sperafico (Petrobras Jnr) at the restart - and took third moments later because rival David Saelens (European Minardi) made a mistake and ploughed down an escape road.

Although champion Justin Wilson (Coca-Cola Nordic Racing) grabbed the lead at the restart, he made a mistake on lap 10 that allowed Pizzonia and Pantano to take the top two places. When stewards subsequently penalised Pizzonia for his startline tactics, Pantano swept through to take a lead he would keep to the end. He went on to build up a comfortable lead over Wilson, although he backed off at the end and took the chequered flag with about one second to spare.

"What can I say?" Giorgio said. "I have had a lot of bad luck this season, so to have a result like this - and in my home country, too - has been just fantastic. I am just grateful that I didn't hit the barrier when Pizzonia put me on the grass, because there could have been a terrible crash if I had bounced back onto the track in front of all the other cars. I thought, 'Oh no, here we go again', but for once things worked in my favour when I got to the first corner and I was able to miss all the other chaos. "I had to race hard to keep Justin at bay and I wasn't surprised when Pizzonia picked up his penalty. It felt great to cross the line - but to be honest it hasn't sunk in yet. I'm just pleased I have been able to show people what I can do at this level. It is the best possible way to end the season." The result lifts Pantano to ninth overall - and third rookie - in the final championship standings.