The 1990 International Formula 3000 Championship was a motor racing competition organised by the FIA for Formula 3000 cars. It was the sixth running of an FIA Formula 3000 Championship.
Érik Comas won the eleven-round championship.
The season began on a damp Donington Park track. On the second lap, Allan McNish and Emanuele Naspetti collided on the straight before the Esses. McNish's car went over the concrete wall, and its engine broke away and killed a spectator. Meanwhile, the race continued uninterrupted and several drivers, including polesitter Andrea Montermini, spun off in the damp conditions. McNish's DAMS Lola teammate Érik Comas took the victory.
At the next round at Silverstone, Damon Hill overtook the two DAMS cars at the start, but suffered the same rear tire failure that had earlier claimed his teammate Gary Brabham. McNish took an emotional win just one week after his Donington crash.
The third round at Pau had to be restarted twice after accidents caused traffic jams on the narrow streets. Marco Apicella took a commanding lead, but slid off into a tire barrier, leaving Eric van de Poele to take the win. Érik Comas won the next round at Jerez, with Apicella coming second. Comas won at Monza as well, this time pursued by Eddie Irvine.
At Enna, a dusty track surface was exacerbated by the rubber “marbles” that resulted from the wearing tires. Many of the favorites spun out of the race, and Gianni Morbidelli won despite a spin of his own. Eddie Irvine managed to come in fourth with a broken front wing, having been off the track at least three times. Irvine won from Apicella at Hockenheim after polesitter Hill had spun off early.
Allan McNish won on a drying Brands Hatch track as the series returned to England. Van de Poele took his second win of the year at the Birmingham Superprix, a race in which Fabrizio Barbazza walked away from a spectacular accident. On the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans, championship leader Comas led away. He was challenged by Philippe Gache, who put in a surprising drive in a year-old Lola before retiring. Comas won the race and clinched the title. Van de Poele won in the wet at Nogaro to take second in the championship. The final round, scheduled to be held at Dijon-Prenois was cancelled. An official statement cited the Gulf crisis and French talks on tobacco sponsorship as the reasons behind the cancellation. [1]
| Round | Race [4] | Circuit | Date | Laps | Distance | Time | Speed | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donington 200 Gold Cup |  Donington Park | 22 April | 50 | 4.023=201.150 km | 1'12:15.34 | 167.03 km/h |  Andrea Montermini |  Stéphane Proulx |  Érik Comas |
| 2 | International Trophy | Silverstone Circuit | 19 May | 41 | 4.778=196.308 km | 0'54:23.20 | 214.59 km/h | Allan McNish | Allan McNish | Allan McNish |
| 3 | Grand Prix de Pau | Pau Grand Prix | 4 June | 69 | 2.76=190.44 km | 1'24:18.72 | 135.532 km/h | Érik Comas | Marco Apicella |  Eric van de Poele |
| 4 | Jerez F3000 |  Circuito de Jerez | 17 June | 48 | 4.2179=202.459 km | 1'18:07.02 | 155.49 km/h | Érik Comas | Érik Comas | Érik Comas |
| 5 | Monza F3000 | Autodromo Nazionale Monza | 24 June | 34 | 5.8=197.2 km | 0'55:19.12 | 213.75 km/h | Damon Hill | Damon Hill | Érik Comas |
| 6 | Grand Premio del Mediterraneo | Autodromo di Pergusa | 22 July | 36 | 4.95=178.200 km | 0'55:27.219 | 192.80 km/h | Damon Hill | Damon Hill | Gianni Morbidelli |
| 7 | Hockenheim F3000 |  Hockenheimring | 28 July | 29 | 6.797=197.113 km | 0'58:14.604 | 202.95 km/h | Damon Hill | Marco Apicella | Eddie Irvine |
| 8 | Brands Hatch F3000 | Brands Hatch | 19 August | 48 | 4.1846=200.861 km | 1'09:09.68 | 174.23 km/h | Eddie Irvine | Michael Bartels | Allan McNish |
| 9 | Halfords Birmingham Superprix | Birmingham | 27 August | 51 | 3.975=202.725 km | 1'11:47.02 | 169.45 km/h | Marco Apicella | Marco Apicella | Eric van de Poele |
| 10 | Le Mans F3000 | Bugatti Circuit | 23 September | 45 | 4.426=199.170 km | 1'11:41.65 | 166.85 km/h | Érik Comas | Philippe Gache | Érik Comas |
| 11 | Grand Prix de Nogaro | Circuit Paul Armagnac | 7 October | 55 | 3.625=199.375 km | 1'20:27.81 | 148.670 km/h | Gianni Morbidelli | Érik Comas | Eric van de Poele |
| Dijon F3000 | Dijon-Prenois | 21 October | Cancelled | |||||||
| Source: [5] | ||||||||||
In each championship round, 9 points were awarded to the winning driver, 6 to the runner up, 4 for third place, 3 for fourth place, 2 for fifth place and 1 for sixth place. No additional points were awarded. [6]
| Pos | Driver | DON | SIL | PAU | JER | MNZ | PER | HOC | BRH | BIR | BUG | NOG | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Érik Comas | 1 | 2 | Ret | 1 | 1 | Ret | 4 | Ret | Ret | 1 | 2 | 51 | |
| 2 | Eric van de Poele | 6 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 9 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 1 | 10 | 1 | 30 | |
| 3 | Eddie Irvine | Ret | 6 | Ret | DNS | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | Ret | 3 | Ret | 27 | |
| 4 | Allan McNish | Ret | 1 | 6† | 16 | 6 | 2 | Ret | 1 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 26 | |
| 5 | Gianni Morbidelli | 8 | Ret | 3 | Ret | 4 | 1 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 7 | 3 | 20 | |
| 6 | Marco Apicella | 13 | 3 | Ret | 2 | 5 | Ret | 2 | DSQ | Ret | Ret | 5 | 20 | |
| 7 |  Andrea Chiesa | 2 | Ret | Ret | 5 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 5 | 2 | 5 | Ret | 18 | |
| 8 | Andrea Montermini | Ret | 4 | Ret | 3 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 9 | 2 | Ret | 13 | |
| 9 | Jean-Marc Gounon | Ret | 13 | DNQ | Ret | Ret | DSQ | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | Ret | 11 | |
| 10 | Fabrizio Giovanardi | Ret | Ret | 2 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 7 | Ret | 5 | Ret | Ret | 10 | |
| 11 |  Gary Brabham | Ret | DNQ | 12 | 3 | 3 | 14† | 8 | DNQ | 8 | 11 | 8 | ||
| 12 | John Jones | 3 | 11 | 4 | Ret | Ret | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | 11 | 9 | DNQ | 7 | |
| 13 | Damon Hill | DNQ | Ret | Ret | 7 | 11 | Ret | Ret | 2 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 6 | |
| 14 | Antonio Tamburini | 4 | 9 | Ret | 13 | 8 | 8 | DNQ | Ret | Ret | 16 | 4 | 6 | |
| 15 | Didier Artzet | DNQ | Ret | Ret | 11 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| 16 | Fabrizio Barbazza | Ret | Ret | Ret | 4 | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 18 | 3 | |
| 17 |  Pedro Chaves | 4 | Ret | DNQ | 14 | 3 | ||||||||
| 18 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Ret | Ret | Ret | 17 | Ret | 5 | 6 | 7 | Ret | Ret | DNQ | 3 | |
| 19 | Richard Dean | 5 | 7 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 2 | |||||||
| 20 | Franck Fréon | DNQ | DNQ | 5† | DNQ | DNQ | 14 | 16 | 2 | |||||
| 21 |  Karl Wendlinger | DNQ | 14 | DNQ | Ret | Ret | 5 | DNQ | 10 | 9 | 2 | |||
| 22 | Michael Bartels | 11 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 7 | Ret | 11 | Ret | 13 | 6 | 1 | |
| 23 | Emanuele Naspetti | Ret | 10 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | DNQ | 1 | |||
| 24 | Paul Belmondo | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | Ret | Ret | DNQ | 11 | Ret | Ret | 6 | Ret | 1 | |
| 25 | Andrew Gilbert-Scott | Ret | 12 | DNQ | 10 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 0 | |
| 26 | Stéphane Proulx | 12 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 10 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 7 | 0 | |
| 27 | Jean-Denis Délétraz | 7 | DNQ | Ret | DNQ | Ret | 0 | |||||||
| 28 | Giovanni Bonanno | 10 | 8 | DNQ | Ret | 9 | DNQ | 0 | ||||||
| 29 | Paul Warwick | Ret | 8 | DNS | 15 | 0 | ||||||||
| 30 | Vincenzo Sospiri | 8 | DNQ | 0 | ||||||||||
| 31 | Philippe Gache | 9 | DNQ | Ret | 14 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 0 | |||
| 32 | Phil Andrews | 14 | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | 12 | 19 | 0 | |
| 33 | Philippe Favre | 12 | DNS | 15 | DNQ | 0 | ||||||||
| 34 | Alain Menu | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||
| 35 |  Giovanni Aloi | Ret | 15 | DNQ | 15 | 0 | ||||||||
| 36 | Giovanna Amati | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 15 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 0 | ||
| 37 | Thierry Delubac | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 17 | 17 | 0 | |||||
| Paolo Delle Piane | DNQ | Ret | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||
| Domenico Gitto | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||
 Marco Greco | DNQ | DNQ | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||
| Claude Bourbonnais | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||||
| Vittorio Zoboli | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||||
| Otto Rensing | DNQ | |||||||||||||
| Ellen Lohr | DNQ | |||||||||||||
| Sources: [7] [8] [9] | ||||||||||||||
| first column of every race | 10 | = grid position |
| second column of every race | 10 | = race result |
R6=retired, but classified R=retired NS=did not start NQ=did not qualify DIS(3)=disqualified after finishing in third position
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