Webber wins with broken rib.

Mark Webber led all the way in the second round of the FIA Formula 3000 Championship at Imola to record his first victory of the season - despite driving with a broken rib.

Racing with painkillers to counter the injury, caused by extreme cornering loads during a recent Formula One test with Benetton Renault Sport, Webber drove a fault-free race and led home Darren Manning (Arden Team Russia) by 3.3 seconds after 31 laps.

"This feels absolutely great," Webber said. "Two weeks ago in Brazil I was stripped of second place because of a small mistake I made during the race, and that was a real kick in the guts for me and the team. This is the best possible way to get over it."

Webber qualified on pole position - and paid tribute to his Super Nova team, which also won the corresponding event last year. "I raced strongly here last season," he said, "and having been beaten by a Super Nova car I knew how good they were. The car was absolutely fantastic from the moment we hit the track. I made a couple of mistakes when I was pushing hard, trying to improve my time, but the team had done an absolutely brilliant job because the car was spot on. It was a great thrill to win my first pole, but I was well aware that the hardest part of the weekend was still to come."

Webber said the rib injury was of no real concern. It had also blighted his race weekend in Brazil, although he kept it quiet at the time.

"It was an odd thing," he said, "and it happened when I was testing the Benetton in Barcelona. I was running on new tyres all the time, so the pace was pretty quick, and I was completing at least a grand prix distance every day. The seat felt comfortable enough, but it was a little bit tight and at some point the sheer cornering load was enough to break one of my ribs. But it has since been getting better every day - and my result this weekend proves it is not a major inconvenience."

The Australian driver made a good start from pole and defended his line on the way to the first corner when Manning attacked. "I saw him coming," explained Webber, "and had to move across a bit to protect my position."

Czech rival Tomas Enge (Coca-Cola Nordic Racing) then ran into the back of the leader's car as the field filtered into the first turn, but neither driver was delayed. "I just felt a bit of a nudge,"commented Webber, "but I didn't know who had hit me. It wasn't a major drama." Enge, who went on to finish third, later apologised for his mistake.

In the opening stages of the race the Super Nova driver began to edge away from Manning, but on lap seven the race was neutralised after Italian Gabriele Varano (Prost Junior) crashed heavily - fortunately without injury. The Safety Car held the field at a controlled pace for the next six laps.

"It was a shame that the Safety Car came out when it did," said Webber afterwards, "because at that stage the tyres were coming up to operating temperature and I was just getting into my stride quite nicely. It breaks your concentration a little when you have to run at reduced speed and, once the race restarts, you have to go through the whole process of getting into a rhythm again. But I was able to pick up the pace again pretty swiftly."

Manning was unable to get close enough to Webber to mount a serious attack and the Australian pulled ever farther away as the race went on. Two laps before the end, Webber set fastest lap to complete his perfect afternoon.

"I don't think I could have done much more to make this weekend any better," stated a delighted Webber. "It's a major breakthrough to get a first win of the year under my belt. It is much, much too soon to start talking about the outcome of the championship, but this proves that we have a good car and it puts me in good heart for the rest of the campaign."

Super Nova team boss David Sears added: "This was the kind of performance we were expecting from Mark when we signed him up, and he delivered. There was a bit of fuss made about his rib before the weekend, but he showed that he wasn't misleading anybody when he said it wasn't going to hinder him. He did a great job today - absolutely first rate."

Webber's next race will be at Barcelona, Spain, on April 28. "I'm going there in good heart," he said, "but my first priority is this week's major two-day test at Monza, which will help us fine-tune the car for some of the low-downforce circuits to come."