The 1992
Formula 3000 International Championship
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become t ...
was the eighth season of
Formula 3000 in Europe.
Luca Badoer won the ten-round championship.
Technical changes
Reynard was once again the dominant manufacturer. After
Lola failed to win a race in 1991, there were only six of their cars on the grid in 1992.
Simtek produced an upgrade of the previous year's
RALT. Two cars were produced and sold to Piquet Racing, however after a test by
Nelson Piquet himself they were sold in favor of a Reynard. Piemme Motors bought one car for Giambattista Busi, who usually started near the back of the grid and never managed to finish a race. The other car was sold to Japan, and RALT announced its withdrawal from F3000 early in the season.
Exotic fuel blends were banned after
Agip's success in 1991. A stricter interpretation of the rules gave the cars long sidepods, which greatly increased the area of the flat floor, making the cars very sensitive to pitch changes.
Season summary
Jordi Gené won on his debut at the
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
, which would turn out to be his only F3000 victory.
Emanuele Naspetti won on the streets of
Pau in spite of a collision with
Andrea Montermini. Both continued, but Montermini later crashed at the
Foch statue. Montermini won the next race in
Barcelona.
At
Enna, the Crypton team introduced a monodamper front suspension, and their driver
Luca Badoer took the victory.
He then won the next two rounds in Germany as other teams scrambled to catch up, either by switching to the dominant Mader-tuned
Cosworth DFVs or with monodampers, now available as an upgrade from Reynard.
[''L'annee Formule 3000 1992''. Drapeau a Damier.]
At
Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...
, Badoer suffered a high-speed accident at Radillion. His car went into the barriers backwards, and Badoer's head hit the steel roll hoop, which broke his helmet and knocked him unconscious. Montermini took the victory, and followed this with a win on F3000's only visit to the twisty
Albacete circuit in Spain.
At Nogaro, Badoer took pole position drove away to a convincing victory to clinch the title with a round to spare. In the finale, Badoer and Montermini collided, leaving
Jean-Marc Gounon to take Lola's only victory of the year, followed by
Olivier Panis
Olivier Panis (; born 2 September 1966) is a French former racing driver. Panis raced in Formula One for ten seasons, earning his first and only win at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix for the Ligier team.
He is the father of racing driver Aurél ...
in another Lola and
David Coulthard.
Drivers and teams
Calendar
Final points standings
Driver
For every race points were awarded: 9 points to the winner, 6 for runner-up, 4 for third place, 3 for fourth place, 2 for fifth place and 1 for sixth place. No additional points were awarded.
Complete Overview
R16=retired, but classified R=retired NS=did not start NQ=did not qualify DIS(6)=disqualified after finishing in eleventh place (25)=place after practice, but grid position not held free
References
External links
International F3000 1992Retrieved from Unofficial F3000 Information on 6 November 2009
{{Formula 3000 years
International Formula 3000
International Formula 3000 seasons