DAMS driver Jérôme d’Ambrosio finished the first Asian GP2 Championship race in Dubai in 7th place. He was 14th on the grid and drove an almost perfect race stopping very early on. Today, the Belgian scored 2 points. Kamui Kobayashi, 3rd on the grid, was not so lucky. After stalling at the start he joined the race from the pit lane and pushed hard until his comeback was cut short by an accident.

Thanks to his 7th place Jérôme will be on the front row tomorrow, while Kamui will start from 21st spot. It is the final round of the Asian GP2 Championship and the two drivers want to finish it in style. At present, DAMS is in 5th place in the Teams’ Championship 1 point behind the fourth and 9 points behind the third-placed squad, so anything can still happen.

Eric Boullier, team manager: “Well done Jérôme for pushing from start to finish gaining seven places and scoring points. Since the start of the season he has shown good fighting spirit. His second place on the grid tomorrow means that he could finish the championship on a high note. Kamui made a small mistake at the start. It’s a pity as he could have moved up a few places in the drivers’ championship, which is very close between third and sixth. As usual, tomorrow, we’ll do our utmost to prepare our cars well. Moving up the ratings in both the teams’ and drivers’ championships is still possible.”

Kamui Kobayashi3rd in qualifying, retired in the race, 21st place on tomorrow’s grid

“A bad day for me. It all began well with a good qualifying session and third place on the grid. Unfortunately, the incident at the start ruined my chances and my accident did not help matters much. I’ll do my level best tomorrow, but starting from twenty-first place in the short race doesn’t make things easy. I can’t count on rain in Dubai to cause upsets in the pack.”

Jérôme d’Ambrosio14th in qualifying, 7th in the race, 2nd on the grid for tomorrow’s race

“I was rather disappointed this morning after qualifying as, without a small error, I’d have been in the top five. But I really went for it in the race, and thanks to my team’s excellent strategy I finished in the points. Tomorrow, my grid position gives me the possibility of a podium finish and that’ll be my aim. I’m feeling increasingly at home in the car and I reckon I’m up to the challenge.”