17. august 2002. The day when doping dashed all hopes of a permanent future in Formula 1 for Tomáš Enge

Tomáš Enge’s racing career cannot be described as anything but exceptional. It is so exceptional that even a film treatment of it would not be lost among other films from the motorsport environment. However, the only Czech driver in Formula 1 certainly does not remember the Hungarian Formula 3000 race on 17 August 2002, exactly 20 years ago, in a good light.

The greatest Czech racing hope of that time

Tomáš Enge was already a proven racer before his F1 debut. His success in the Formula 3000 championship (at the time the second highest league after F1) guaranteed him a secure future in the queen of motorsport.

And when the opportunity to race in the final three Grands Prix of the 2001 season came up after Luciano Burti’s accident at Spa, there was nothing stopping Enge from starting a new chapter in his career, this time in Formula One.

Unfortunately, 2002 proved to be a turning point for Enge in the bad sense of the word. Prost, the team that had employed him for the last three races of the previous F1 season, went bankrupt early in the year. Enge had to stay in Formula 3000, hoping that his vast experience in the series would not only guarantee him a coveted title, but also a well-deserved place in one of F1’s top teams.

But bad luck continued to nip at his heels. In the first race of the 2002 F3000 season in Brazil, he retired after a technical failure. Three times during the season he was blasted by rivals, including his biggest rival for the title, Sébastien Bourdais. His experience and skill, however, earned him three triumphs, and thus a well-deserved championship fight.

The fatal race

The tenth round of the season in Hungary unfortunately decided everything. Including Enge’s possible bright future in Formula One.

17. on August 8, 2002, Enge took the front of the grid for an important victory in the F3000 season. The Liberec native put in a superb first lap, passing the rest of the field by just 2.4 seconds.

Enge dominated the entire race. And although a multi-car accident in the final laps brought the whole train together for the safety car exit, Enge saw out the restart on the final circuit and drove to his fourth win of the season at the Hungaroring.

The vision of the F3000 title was growing stronger. After the race, Enge took an innocent doping test. What didn’t happen…

A cold shower

13. september, a month after the Hungaroring race, it was revealed that Enge had traces of marijuana in his urine. The Czech rider was allowed to continue his season, which he eventually dominated with a second place in the final race at Monza. For a while, he could boast the title of Formula 3000 champion.

1. in October, the final verdict came from the FIA, which was awaited not only by Enge’s entire team, but also by the entire Czech racing community. The verdict was uncompromising. Enge lost ten points for his victory at the Hungaroring, which deprived him of the Formula 3000 title, which went to Bourdais.

Enge’s reputation on the international racing scene was irrevocably tarnished. Enge went on to Le Mans, returned to F3000 in 2004 and had a taste of the American racing world.

Source:: Formula 2002/03 (Jiří Nikodým)