SEPTEMBER 13, 2002

Enge in position for F3000 title

The F3000 title will be decided Saturday at Monza, the final stop of the 12 race series. Thomas Enge, despite his recent off-track problems, put himself in position to win the F3000 championship by qualifying four positions higher than rival, and current points leader, Sebastien Bourdais.

Enge's Arden teammate Bjorn Wirdheim will start from pole, setting the pace in both qualifying sessions Friday. The Swede has yet to win a race for the front-running team, but has come on strong late in the season.

Giorgio Pantano, who still has an outside chance to take the championship, will start next to Wirdheim. The Coloni driver needs to win the race, as he did last year, and have Bordais and Enge finish no better than fourth place.

Enge will start third next to Team Astromega's Rob Nguyen on the second row. Antonio Pizzonia and Mario Haberfeld will start from the third row, and Sebastien Bourdais will have to start seventh. The Frenchman will no doubt make a charge, as he will have to get around Enge to win the Championship.