DAMS Barcelona Qualifying Report

Romain Grosjean and DAMS reday for the fight!

Romain Grosjean and DAMS will start from the third row of the grid for tomorrow's main GP2 Series race on the Montmelo circuit.

Things got off to a good start this morning in spring-like conditions when Romain set the quickest time in the free session with more than 6/10s in hand over his nearest rival. It was a very encouraging debut, especially as Pal Varhaug showed his pace with the eight-fastest lap in the session.

But unfortunately, in the qualifying session on a much hotter track, DAMS did not have the same success. Grosjean was unable to repeat his brilliant performance in the morning practice, and finished in a slightly-disappointing fifth place behind his rivals in the title chase. It was the same story for his Norwegian team-mate who did not manage to confirm the promise shown in the free session.

Loďc David, General Manager: "For once, despite the sun, we've got glum faces! We felt very confident after the first session, but the track got a lot hotter before qualifying and that probably had an influence on our result. We just lacked that little extra. However, the fact that Romain is starting from the third row on the clean side of the track bodes well for the race."

Romain Grosjean

Photo by: GP2 Media Service

Romain Grosjean: P5 (1m 30.807s)

"Today's qualifying was a bit more difficult than the last one, but I think we know where we had problems. However, I'm feeling confident for the race tomorrow and I know it'll be long and full of upsets. It's up to us to learn from our small mistakes and continue our encouraging start to the season. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's battle!"

Pal Varhaug: P20 (1m 31.779s)

"I was very happy after the free session but the car wasn't handling in the same way in qualifying. So I'm not very happy with my position. I'll do my utmost to fight my way back up through the field during tomorrow's race."

-source: dams