British duo tops F3000 opener

The opening round of the 1988 International Formula 3000 Championship at Jerez was remarkable not only for a victorious debut for a new chassis, but for an unprecedented 1-2 for British drivers. Reigning national Formula Three champion Johnny Herbert led from start to finish in his first appearance in the series, and was eventually chased to the flag by compatriot Mark Blundell in a Lola. Herbert was driving the first F3000 chassis to emerge from Bicester-based Reynard company (which only graduated to manufacturing F3 single-seaters in 1985) – an 88D run by Eddie Jordan Racing’s Benetton Junior team. This is the fourth year of F3000. All three previous champions graduated directly into Grand Prix, but only one race has previously gone to a Briton. It was not all sunshine and garlands for the seven-driver British F3000 contingent, however, for a similar Reynard run by the re-constituted Spirit team crashed, putting Steve Kempton in hospital with a broken foot.