05/12/2008
NEWS STORY
DAMS - Kamui Kobayashi (1st) Jérôme d'Ambrosio (7th)
Today, Kamui Kobayashi made it clear that he is the man to beat this year. The Japanese driver started from pole and gave DAMS its first victory this season's Asian GP2 Series plus the fastest lap in the race: the French team now leads the championship. Jérôme d'Ambrosio also put on a good performance to finish seventh.
It looked on the cards in free practice and qualifying. The hard work done by DAMS since the Shanghai race bore fruit in Dubai. The team converted its Thursday pole into a victory winning this weekend's main race and also confirmed its status as title favourite. The French squad's scintillating form was underlined by Jérôme d'Ambrosio's points-scoring seventh place after he started from the fifth row.
Kobayashi was full of confidence after his pole position yesterday and left his rivals no chance in today's long race. He took the chequered flag with 14 secs in hand over the second-placed finisher. The promise he showed in China was brilliantly confirmed in Dubai, and he is now the man to beat in the championship. In the overall classification he leads Roldan Rodriguez by 3 points and David Valsecchi by seven.
Jérôme d'Ambrosio also drove a great race. He qualified in tenth place after Kobayashi held him up by accident in his last flying lap. He pushed hard with, in particular, a superb pass on Yamamoto and set the third-quickest time in the race. He finished seventh scoring 2 points, and above all he will start on the front row for the sprint event on Saturday.
This result confirms the DAMS team's role as favourite for the 2008-09 title. Despite a late pit stop that dropped him back Kobayashi was so much quicker than his rivals on the Dubai circuit that he seemed to be on another planet. D'Ambrosio also proved his determination and ability to score points. Of course, this has to be confirmed on Saturday in the sprint race (start 10h00 local time).
Eric Boullier, tea m manager: "Champagne time! It's a huge satisfaction for the whole team. After two victories last season we've opened our score thanks to Kamui. He dove a great race and he's now leading the championship. It's logical and well deserved. Jérôme too had a remarkable race. Despite a spin at the start of the event he fought his way up to seventh. It's looking good for tomorrow's sprint."
Kamui Kobayashi: "I'm over the moon! The car was perfectly set up and I was able to go flat out. I came out of the pits behind Petrov and Rodriguez but I just felt so much at ease that I was able to pass them without problems. Things are going well. This win puts me in the championship lead and now I feel confident in my capacity to battle for the title."
Jérôme d'Ambrosio: "What a race! At the start I pushed really hard and went off line and spun. I restarted in twenty-fourth place and the fact that I got back up to seventh gives me a lot of satisfaction. The car's reall y great and it enabled me to set the third-quickest time in the race. Tomorrow, in the sprint event I have to repeat my performance today – but without the spin! - so I can fight for victory."
Durango - Davide Valsecchi (2nd) Michael Dalle Stelle (17th)
Davide Valsecchi brought his Durango at the second place of Dubai race 1. Very well done even for Michael Dalle Stelle who finished seventeenth after a race run with cleverness. Davide made a magnificent start, entering the first corner as second, then a flat bottom support collapsed slowing him down for a bit, but in the end he claimed back his second position with extreme authority.
"At the start I guessed the right hole being able to pass three cars with one move. Not bad. – Davide declared - Some laps after I felt something wrong and I lost some positions but, going on and losing fuel weight, the situation went better so I pushed again getting back to the second place. Which is good because my aim is to get points at every race, commencing from tomorrow one."
GFH Team iSport - Giedo van der Garde (4th) Hamad Al Fardan (DNF)
GFH team iSport driver Giedo van der Garde scored the first points of his GP2 Asia campaign with a strong race to 4th after starting from 7th on the grid in today's Feature Race at the Dubai Autodrome. Van der Garde had a clean start and managed to pass Yelmer Buurman on lap 1. He was soon chasing down ART driver Sakon Yamamoto who was recovering from a poor start and made a great move to take 5th place. After a trouble free mandatory pit stop Van der Garde remained 5th until the Campos car of Vitaly Petrov suffered a problem and he soon passed him to take an impressive 4th place in only his second GP2 Asia race. Van der Garde now lies in joint 8th place in the Drivers Championship.
It was a frustratingly short race for Bahraini GFH team iSport driver Hamad Al Fardan but he showed his potential against some strong competition. Al Fardan made a storming start to the race from 19th on the grid to 12th by the end of the 1st lap and was soon on the tail of Andreas Zuber and Pastor Maldonado. Zuber ran wide and Al Fardan took the opportunity to dive down the inside only for Zuber to turn in on him. Zuber spun and Al Fardan continued for another lap but the GFH team iSport car was too badly damaged in the incident and spun out of the race on lap 3 with damaged steering.
Giedo van der Garde will start from 5th for tomorrow's Sprint Race with Hamad Al Fardan unfortunately starting from the back of the grid after his retirement. The race starts at 13:00pm local time.
Ocean Racing Team - Fabrizio Crestani (14th) Yelmer Buurman (DNF)
After starting sixth on the grid for the opening race of the GP2 Asia round in Dubai today, Ocean Racing Technologies Dutch driver Yelmer Buurman, was on his way to securing the first points for the new team directed by Tiago Monteiro and Jose Guedes when he was forced out of contention after a racing incident caused by Diego Nunes. Before his retirement however, Buurman had definitely confirmed his new team's potential. Meanwhile the rise of Fabrizio Crestani from 23rd on the grid to 14th place was a satisfying result.
Yelmer Buurman expressed his disappointment at the outcome: "It is frustrating but there is no point in looking back. It was a racing incident and I'd prefer to think about the 15 laps that were positive. I found a good race pace but I was slowed down by Perez and it destroyed my tyres. After the pit stop my pace was on par with the leaders' and that was a good thing. The pit stop was very good but we had to change my rear tyres and my car was understeering. Despite this, the car was fast and it confirms we made the right choice. Unfortunately, Nunes climbed over car and the result did not reflect our true competitiveness."
Meanwhile, teammate Fabrizio Crestani was more satisfied with his result, the Italian racer proving that he had quickly adapted to the GP2 Asia series: "We started all the way at the back of the starting grid and therefore we decided to go for an early pit stop in order to have a clean track ahead of us. The strategy worked fine and the team completed a perfect pit stop which allowed me to gain some places. I'm still learning the track and its ideal lines but I'm getting used to the car. I had some doubts about my physical condition but my body has reacted pretty well and I was in good shape after the race. I made up 9 positions in the feature race and my aim will be to finish in the points tomorrow. It would be very important for the team as well as for me because we are both newcomers in the series."
Tiago Monteiro was also very satisfied with the performance that Ocean Racing Technology succeeded in displaying and explained why the result must be analysed without emotion. "Accidents can be very frequent in this very tight championship. The most important thing is that the Yelmer's pace was comparable with that of best out there and that Fabrizio displayed great maturity by making up several many places in a championship that he did not know until today. We are very satisfied with our choice of drivers for our start in the GP2 Series and we are very happy with our competitiveness."
Trident Racing - Alberto Valerio (16th) Chris Van der Drift (DNF)
Trident Racing had to face a true nightmare experience today at Dubai. In the first race of the GP2 Asia Series' weekend in the United Arab Emirates, Chris Van der drift stalled on the starting grid, and was forced to take off from the pit-lane. The new Zealander started lapping fairly well, making up part of the lost time. During his first stop though, his car clipped one of the team's crewmen, Aleandro Ipuche, who was treated for some bruises but suffered no fractures. Chris ended his day on the spot, while Alberto Valerio managed to complete his race with a less animated tough flawless performance in 16th. He'll be starting tomorrow's Race 2 from row 8.
Chris Van der Drift: "Today's race is really something to forget. After the troubled start, with a problem experienced on the grid, we had a pit-lane incident that provided huge moments of tension. The only positive note is that our crewman didn't report any serious injury. The rest... well, it's something to get rid of soon...".
Alberto Valerio: "I drove a pretty linear race today, with the main concern being the track's condition. I'm constantly improving my confidence with the car, and the team is starting to understand my driving style and set-up preferences. I hope to improve my pace tomorrow too, and manage to recover some more spots. I count on the track's many passing opportunities".
My QI-Meritus.Mahara - Earl Bamber(20th) Alex Yoong (DNF)
Malaysian Alex Yoong and New Zealand rookie Earl Bamber started respectively from 16th and 21st and were looking to finish the 34-lap long first race of their second GP2 Asia series weekend in the points. However, the race ended on lap 3 for Alex Yoong who suffered from a damaged rear suspension and was forced to retire. The race ended early as well for Earl Bamber who could not make it to the finish because of an engine problem.
It was an exciting start for Bamber and Yoong as they both gained a place and were running 14th and 19th at the start of lap two. By lap five, Earl Bamber was up to eleventh and made his compulsory pit stop. He fought his way back through the field before an engine problem ended his race three laps before the finish.
Earl Bamber commented, "My start was not that strong. It was messy ahead of me. I could only pass James Jakes and then I worked hard to gain positions. My early pit stop did not go as smooth as I wanted wit one of the wheels remaining stuck. I rejoined and began fighting up the order. I was up to ninth when I started losing the front tyres and sense the pace was not there anymore. I fought on, but three laps before the end I had the impression that there was a fuel shortage but in fact it was my engine dying. It was a real pity because we were holding in the top ten without problem. It's very disappointing, even if there is another race tomorrow."
Alex Yoong commented, "I am not very pleased with my race. We really missed the time and mileage from first practice. The car was good and I got up to 17th. The pace was good, but as I turned I felt the car was gone, the wishbone was broken. I didn't notice, but there must have been contact at the start as I have marks on my tyres, but I didn't feel anything. So far it hasn't been a great weekend and I have been struggling with an upset stomach. I hope to be better tomorrow and end the weekend on a positive note."
Peter Thompson, team founder commented, "I am very disappointed that neither of our two cars finished today since the team, mechanics and engineers and our team principal Gianfranco Bielli worked so hard to have a good race in front of our fans and our sponsors. Sometimes, it is just hard to go racing. Now we must investigate whath appened with Earl's engine and plan for a stronger second race."
Raad S. Abduljawad, team chairman, My Qi-Meritus.Mahara commented, "Of course I am disappointed. I had been looking forward to our home race. It's definitely a race to forget with Alex Yoong out after the third lap and Earl Bamber out at the end of the race as he was running in the top ten. Let's hope for the entire team that tomorrow is a better day."