Monaco: DAMS qualifying report

Monaco, Qualifying: Traffic jams and yellow flags Today, DAMS took part in free practice and qualifying for the third round of the 2008 GP2 Championship on the prestigious Monaco circuit. Kamui Kobayashi and Jerome d'Ambrosio spent the 30 minute ...

Monaco, Qualifying: Traffic jams and yellow flags

Today, DAMS took part in free practice and qualifying for the third round of the 2008 GP2 Championship on the prestigious Monaco circuit. Kamui Kobayashi and Jerome d'Ambrosio spent the 30 minute morning session fine-tuning their set-up, and in the case of the Japanese learning the layout. Qualifying was typical Monaco as the drivers had to cope with the traffic, keep an eye out for yellow flags and nurse their tyres as the track evolved.

Jerome and Kamui will start from 9th and 16th positions tomorrow. Both DAMS drivers moved up a place after one of their competitors was hit by a penalty. A top 8 finish looks on the cards, which will enable them to score some points and start higher up on Saturday's grid.

After four races DAMS is in 8th place in the championship with 8 points.

Eric Boullier, team manager: "Monaco is unique and we knew that luck would play a part in dictating qualifying results. We took a bet with Jerome who knew the circuit as he had already raced here in single-seaters, and it paid off. Kamui was unlucky. He had to learn the circuit while coping with the yellow flags and getting 100% out of his car. He made no mistakes and can hope for a good result."

Jerome d'Ambrosio
19th in free practice, 10th in qualifying, 9th on the grid

"I'm satisfied with this position even if I know that I could have done a bit better. The team took the gamble to send me out with more fuel than my rivals. This meant that I was able to stay out when they pitted to change tyres so I had a clear track. I'm really hoping to score my first points of the season tomorrow. A place in the first eight would allow me to start higher up on the grid on Saturday."

Kamui Kobayashi
18th in free practice, 17th in qualifying, 16th on the grid

"It's been a difficult day. I'd never driven in Monaco before and I had only thirty minutes' free practice this morning to learn the circuit. It was a bit tight given the job in hand! I got caught up in traffic and there were plenty of yellow flags. But I think that's fairly usual here! For tomorrow my aim is to get into the top eight. It's not impossible and I'll do my best to achieve it."