© Paul Sutton

EXPERIENCE THE KEY FOR COUTO

Home heroe Andre Couto (Dallara Opel F399) claimed the overall honours with the first and a second place in the 47th Grand Prix of Macau. Driving for the German Bertram Schäfer Racing (BSR) team, the Macau resident had a 3.4 seconds deficit to make up in race 2 after finishing 2nd to Pierre Kaffer of Germany in race 1. Couto, who has raced in the F.I.A. Formula 3000 Championship for the past 2 seasons, was making his 6th appearance in the annual Formula 3 classic. He took the chequered flag under a full course caution with the safety car deployed because of an incident involving the Austrian Robert Lechner, who crashed the TOM´s Dallara Toyota on the final corner on his 12th lap.

"I am really happy. This is a great result," exclaimed Couto. "It was difficult with Paulo behind me and I just concentrated on not making any mistakes. When I saw the safety car I thought it wasn`t a good moment, because the rest of the field could close up, but when I saw the man with the lap board, I realized I had won."

Couto had outspeeded Kaffer from the front row in the second leg, but then came under a sustained challenge from Paulo Montin of Italy. That pressure eased with 2 laps to go, when the safety car came out to control the field. Japan`s Ryo Fukuda had earlier demoted Kaffer to 4th and that order was maintained over the line with Enrico Toccacelo, Tomas Scheckter, Ben Collins and Andy Priaulx next in line.

Couto`s chance had come after the front row pair of Narain Karthikeyan and Takuma Sato had not made the most of their advantage in race one. Sato led as far as Lisboa, but outbraked himself and crashed into the barriers. His Carlin Motorsport team mate, Karthikeyan, had a useful lead, but he too was out after a crash on lap 6. The spotlight fell on local man Couto, but he soon was under threat from Pierre Kaffer (Team HMS Dallara Opel). The two began a spirited duel for the lead before the German finally took control, when Couto ran wide and lost vital speed at Lisboa on the penultimate lap.

In race 2, Karthikeyan was again the fastest man on the track, trying to make up ground from a low grid position, because of his first race crash, but was unable to finish higher than 13th, chased home by Sato. Jonathan Cochet, the French F3 Champion and winner of the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort, was never able to feature. He ran over debris from Karthikeyan`s accident and finished 20th in race 1 and 11th in race 2.

2000 winner Andrè Couto. The Grand Prix of Macau is also the FIA International Formula 3 Cup, the unofficial F3 worldchampionship.

Winner Andrè Couto drives a Dallara Opel entered by German Bertram Schaefer Racing and sponsored by the City of Macau.

The Asian Monaco. The slow hairpin of the Guia circuit.

The challenger. Narain Karthikeyan was the fastest man in the narrow streets of Macau but drove lucklessly.

The Guia circuit is about 7 kilometres long and has got both slow and fast parts.

Previous Winners:

1983: Ayrton Senna (BR), Ralt Toyota RT3

1984: John Nielsen (DK), Ralt VW RT3

1985: Mauricio Gugelmim (BR), Ralt VW RT30

1986: Andy Wallace (GB), Reynard VW 863

1987: Martin Donnelly (GB), Ralt Toyota RT31

1988: Enrico Bertaggia (I), Dallara Alfa Romeo F388

1989: David Brabham (AUS), Ralt VW RT33

1990: Michael Schumacher (D), Reynard VW 903

1991: David Coulthard (GB), Ralt Mugen Honda RT35

1992: Rickard rydell (S), TOM´s Toyota 032F

1993: Joerg Mueller (D), Dallara Fiat F393

1994: Sascha Maassen (D), Dallara Opel F394

1995: Ralf Schumacher (D), Dallara Mugen Honda F395

1996: Ralph Firman (GB), Dallara Mugen Honda F396

1997: Soheil Ayari (F), Dallara Opel F396

1998: Peter Dumbreck (GB), Dallara Toyota F398

1999: Darren Manning (GB), Dallara Toyota F399

Entry List:

No./Driver/Nation/Car-Engine

1 Robert Lechner (A), Dallara Toyota F300

2 Haruki Kurosawa (JPN), Dallara Toyota F300

3 Ryo Fukuda (JPN), Dallara Renault F399

5 Mathieu Zangarelli (F), Dallara Renault F399

6 Jonathan Cochet (F), Dallara Renault F399

7 Lei Kit Meng (MAC), Dallara Mugen Honda

8 Andy Priaulx (GB), Dallara Mugen Honda F300

9 Patrick Friesacher (A), Dallara Opel F399

10 Andrè Couto (PORT), Dallara Opel F399

11 Alex Yoong (MAL), Dallara Opel F399

12 Tomas Scheckter (ZA), Dallara Opel F399

15 Yuji Ide (JPN), Dallara Mugen Honda F399

16 Seiji Ara (JPN), Dallara Mugen Honda F300

17 Pierre Kaffer (GER), Dallara Opel F300

18 Jo Merszei (MAC), Dallara Opel F300

19 Sebastian Philippe (FRA), Dallara Renault F399

20 Tiago Monteiro (PORT), Dallara Renault F399

21 Narain Karthikeyan (IND), Dallara Mugen Honda F300

22 Takuma Sato (JPN), Dallara Mugen Honda F300

23 Paolo Montin (I), Dallara Opel F399

25 Gianmaria Bruni (I), Dallara Mugen Honda F300

26 Lee Ying Kin (CHN), Dallara Mugen Honda F300

27 Enrico Toccacelo (I), Dallara Opel F300

28 Peter Sundberg (S), Dallara Opel F300

29 Ben Collins (GB), Dallara Opel F300

30 Milos Pavlovic (YUG), Dallara Opel F300

31 Zsold Baumgartner (H), Dallara Opel F399

32 Toshihiro Kaneishi (JPN), Dallara Opel F300

36 Michael Ho (MAC), Dallara Opel F399

38 Shinichi Takagi (JPN), Dallara Toyota F399

Grid Positions:

1 Narain Karthikeyan (IND) 2:12.887

2 Takuma Sato (J) 2:13.146

3 Ryo Fukuda (J) 2:13.262

4 Pierre Kaffer (D)

5 Mathieu Zangarelli (F)

6 Andre Couto (P)

7 Patrick Friesacher (A)

8 Enrico Toccacelo (I)

9 Paolo Montin (I)

10 Gianmaria Bruni (I)

...

Race Results:

Race 1 (15 Laps)

1 Pierre Kaffer (D), Dallara Opel 36m46.328s = 149.780 km/h

2 Andre Couto (P), Dallara Opel 36m49.728s

3 Mathieu Zangarelli (F), Dallara Renault 36m50.715s

4 Paulo Montin (I), Dallara Opel

5 Ryo Fukuda (J), Dallara Renault

6 Patrick Friesacher (A), Dallara Opel

7 Tomas Scheckter (ZA), Dallara Opel

8 Enrico Toccacelo (I), Dallara Opel

9 Andy Priaulx (GB), Dallara Mugen Honda

10 Tiago Monteiro (P), Dallara Renault

...

Fastest Lap: Narain Karthikeyan (IND), Dallara Mugen Honda 2:14.718 = 163.540 km/h (Lap 5)

Race 2 (15 Laps, = Final Classification 47th Grand Prix of Macau)

1 Andre Couto (P), Dallara Opel 39m48.758s = 138.340 km/h

2 Paulo Montin (I), Dallara Opel 39m49.868s

3 Ryo Fukuda (J), Dallara Renault 39m52.762s

4 Pierre Kaffer (D), Dallara Opel

5 Enrico Toccacelo (I), Dallara Opel

6 Tomas Scheckter (ZA), Dallara Opel

7 Ben Collins (GB), Dallara Opel

8 Andy Priaulx (GB), Dallara Mugen Honda

9 Tiago Monteiro (P), Dallara Renault

10 Patrick Friesacher (A), Dallara Opel

...

Fastest Lap: Narain Karthikeyan (IND), Dallara Mugen Honda 2:13.253 = 165.340 km/H

J H/ra

© 2000 by researchracing

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