FIA F2

Asia: Qatar: DAMS weekend summary

DAMS holds on to its lead This weekend the DAMS team took part in the 2 rounds of the Asian GP2 Series on the Losail circuit in Qatar, the 4th round of the championship. Kamui Kobayashi and Jerome d'Ambrosio who were in 4th and 5th places on the ...

Published: Jun 19, 2009, 7:38 PM

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DAMS holds on to its lead

This weekend the DAMS team took part in the 2 rounds of the Asian GP2 Series on the Losail circuit in Qatar, the 4th round of the championship.

Kamui Kobayashi and Jerome d'Ambrosio who were in 4th and 5th places on the grid had a very good Feature race yesterday. Despite a car that was damaged in a collision the Japanese driver managed to hold on to his starting place until the finish and added another 5 points to his tally. Jerome made the best comeback in the race. Thanks to an aggressive strategy, a very good piece of driving on his part and a perfectly executed pit stop, he pulled back several places and finished fifth.

Today, in the Short race the team did not enjoy the same success. Jerome finished the 1st lap in 7th place where he stayed until the end, as he was unable to move any further up the classification. Lady Luck did not smile on Kamui. He missed his start and was in 8th position after the 1st turn but his car's handling went off aft er a collision. He made a couple of mistakes and saw the flag in 18th position.

After the 4th round Kamui has held on to his lead in the drivers' classification (Jerome is fifth) and DAMS is still in 1st place in the teams' ratings, 16 points ahead of its nearest challenger.

Eric Boullier, team manager: "The team's recent performances led us to believe that we'd reap a rich harvest of points this weekend. We had to make do with a fourth and a fifth place, but these results enable us to keep the lead in both championships. We never really got into the groove on this rather special circuit, and we reckon we'll be back at our best in the next round."

Kamui Kobayashi: "Yesterday was very positive. Despite the fact that my car was slightly damaged, and very difficult to drive, I managed to finish in the same position as I started. Today, I honestly don't really understand what happened. My tyres were completely shot after only a few laps and it was all I could do to keep the car on the track. My lead in the championship means I can afford a mistake, but I want to get back on top at the next round."

Jerome d'Ambrosio: "I'm very happy with my race yesterday. Tenth at the start and fifth at the finish, it would have been difficult to do better. This evening the car's handling was very inconsistent. I think this is a very special circuit, and we didn't really managed to get to grips with it. It hasn't compromised my level of performance and our motivation is still bullet-proof!"

-credit: dams

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