AUGUST 26, 2002

Formula Nissan men head for battle again

The Telefonica World Series by Nissan (aka Formula Nissan) kicks off again this coming weekend at Magny Cours after nearly two months without a race. The battle for the championship is on in the course of the final five races with former F1 driver Ricardo Zonta under threat from Belgium's rising star Bas Leinders.

Zonta has scored three wins this year in his Gabord Competition entry but Leinders (KTR) has won two and was the man of the moment when the series shut down for the summer break. The third man in line for the title is France's Franck Montagny who also has two wins to his name. With 20 points for a victory Zonta's score of 124 is less than a win away for Montagny (105 points) with Leinders also in a position to take over the lead with 118 points.

Justin Wilson, the former Formula 3000 Champion and Montagny's team mate, is fourth in the series but has yet to win a race this year for the Racing Engineering team.

Amongst the other racing this year are former F3000 drivers Antonio Garcia, Andre Couto, Nicholas Filiberti plus former Prost Grand Prix test driver and French F3 Champion Jonathan Cochet. India's Narain Karthikeyan, who has tested for Jaguar Racing in the past, is also in the championship.