1997 International Formula 3000 Championship


The 1997 International Formula 3000 season was the thirty-first season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also thirteenth season under the International Formula 3000 Championship moniker. The championship was a ten-round series contested from 11 May to 25 October 1997. The Drivers' Championship was won by Brazilian Ricardo Zonta of Super Nova Racing, who won three races.

Drivers and teams

The following teams and drivers contested the 1997 FIA Formula 3000 International Championship. The Lola T96/50 Zytek-Judd was used by all teams, as was mandatory under the championship regulations.
TeamDriverRounds
RSM Marko1 Craig LowndesAll
RSM Marko2 Juan Pablo MontoyaAll
Super Nova Racing3 Ricardo ZontaAll
Super Nova Racing4 Laurent RedonAll
Team Astromega5 Boris DerichebourgAll
Team Astromega6 Soheil AyariAll
Draco Engineering7 Cyrille SauvageAll
Draco Engineering8 Pedro CouceiroAll
Apomatox9 Fabrizio Gollin1-3, 9
Apomatox9 Emmanuel Clérico4
Apomatox10 Jean-Philippe Belloc1-4
Edenbridge Racing11 Werner LupbergerAll
Edenbridge Racing12 Max WilsonAll
Pacific Racing14 Oliver Tichy1-8
Pacific Racing15 Marc Gené1-2
DAMS16 Grégoire de GalzainAll
DAMS17 Jamie DaviesAll
Durango Formula18 Stephen WatsonAll
Durango Formula19 Gareth ReesAll
Auto Sport Racing20 Gastón MazzacaneAll
Auto Sport Racing21 Tom KristensenAll
Nordic Racing22 Thomas Biagi1-3
Nordic Racing22 Marc Gené4-6, 10
Nordic Racing22 Mario Waltner7-8
Nordic Racing22 Gianluca Paglicci9
Nordic Racing23 Rui ÁguasAll
Bob Salisbury Engineering24 Oliver Gavin1-3
Bob Salisbury Engineering24 James Taylor4-10
Bob Salisbury Engineering25 Thomas SchieAll
Den Blå Avis26 Jason WattAll
DC Cook Motorsport27 David CookAll
DC Cook Motorsport28 Patrick Lemarié9-10
Coloni Motorsport29 Markus FriesacherAll
Coloni Motorsport30 Emiliano Spataro1-9
Coloni Motorsport30 Oliver Tichy10
Ravarotto Racing31 Anthony Beltoise1-7
Ravarotto Racing32 Patrick Lemarié1-4, 6
GP Racing33 Thomas Biagi4-10
Elide Racing34 Miguel Ángel de Castro10
Arden International35 Christian HornerAll
KTR36 Kurt MollekensAll
Redman & Bright F300037 Gonzalo Rodríguez1, 3-7, 9-10
DKS Racing38 Dino Morelli1-4

Calendar

RoundCircuitDateLapsDistanceTimeSpeedPole PositionFastest LapWinner
1 Silverstone Circuit11 May405.140=205.600 km1'21:15.501151.990 km/h Ricardo Zonta Marc Gené Tom Kristensen
2 Pau Grand Prix19 May752.760=207.000 km1'32:44.230133.927 km/h Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya
3 Helsinki Thunder25 May653.180=206.700 km1'38:32.881125.847 km/h Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Soheil Ayari
4 Nürburgring29 June44.556=18.224 km0'07:57.334137.443 km/h Ricardo Zonta Ricardo Zonta Ricardo Zonta
5 Autodromo di Pergusa20 July414.950=202.950 km1'04:48.310187.902 km/h Jamie Davies Jamie Davies Jamie Davies
6 Hockenheimring26 July316.823=211.513 km1'04:33.262196.591 km/h Tom Kristensen Juan Pablo Montoya Ricardo Zonta
7 A1 Ring3 August484.319=207.312 km1'12:39.794171.183 km/h Juan Pablo Montoya Ricardo Zonta Juan Pablo Montoya
8 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps22 August296.968=202.072 km1'05:19.036185.622 km/h Tom Kristensen Rui Águas Jason Watt
9 Mugello Circuit29 September405.245=209.800 km1'09:03.576182.277 km/h Ricardo Zonta Ricardo Zonta Ricardo Zonta
10 Circuito de Jerez25 October444.428=194.832 km1'13:47.224158.428 km/h Ricardo Zonta Ricardo Zonta Juan Pablo Montoya

Note:
After finishing the season with two wins in the last three races of 1996, Brazil's Ricardo Zonta entered 1997 as the pre-season title favourite with the Super Nova team. However, he endured a frustrating start with no points from the first three races. The early pace in the championship battle was set by Denmark's Tom Kristensen, who inherited the race victory at a damp Silverstone from the disqualified Zonta, and then finished behind Juan Pablo Montoya on the street circuit at Pau. After an attritional race in Helsinki won by Soheil Ayari, where most of the major title contenders failed to finish and just nine drivers made it to the chequered flag, the field endured another wet race at the Nurburgring. It was marred by a serious accident involving British drivers Dino Morelli and Gareth Rees, in which Morelli suffered severe leg injuries which would keep him out of racing for the rest of the season. With the race abandoned after just four laps, Zonta was declared the winner, but with only half-points awarded.
By mid-season, the competitive start to the season left the championship battle wide open, with Kristensen and Enna winner Jamie Davies leading the standings halfway through the season ahead of Montoya, Zonta and Ayari. Zonta became the first driver to win twice with a dominant drive at Hockenheim, but left Germany a point behind the consistent Davies, who had been on the podium in four of the six races so far. However, at the A1-Ring, a disastrous qualifying left the British driver down in 24th place on the grid, leaving him out of contention for points. Montoya led home Zonta, who became the new championship leader.
The race at Spa-Francorchamps was another overshadowed by a large crash, as Kristensen crashed heavily while leading at the high-speed Blanchimont corner, triggering a pile-up, though no drivers were seriously injured. Denmark's Jason Watt took his first Formula 3000 race win to enter title contention, as Zonta could only manage to finish fifth, and his rivals all failed to score points. However, a month later, a controversial round at Mugello settled the championship - Kristensen was excluded from the event for running an illegal spacer, while Davies and DAMS team mate Gregoire de Galzain were also excluded for failure to attend the drivers' briefing. Zonta's race win, with Montoya only finishing third behind Watt, meant that the Brazilian was declared champion. The Auto Sport and Durango teams protested Zonta and Watt's results for allegedly having used illegal fuel and car parts, but this protest was quashed and the results stood. Montoya went on to win the final round at Jerez, securing second place in the championship. Watt finished third ahead of Davies, who had failed to score any points since taking the lead of the championship with four races to go.
None of the drivers who participated in the 1997 season were able to take seats on the 1998 Formula One grid. Zonta moved to the AMG Mercedes team in the FIA GT Championship, which he won jointly with Klaus Ludwig, and went on to drive for BAR in Formula One in 1999. Kristensen, who had won the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans, moved into sportscar racing, while the remaining major contenders would return to Formula 3000 in 1998.

Drivers' Championship

Complete Overview

R24=retired, but classified R=retired NS=did not start NQ=did not qualify NT=no time set in qualifying DIS=disqualified after finishing as winner =place after practice, but grid position not held free DIS=disqualified in practice