The second race of the 10th and final round of the 2008 GP2 Series Championship took place yesterday on the mythic Monza circuit, home to the 2008 F1 Italian Grand Prix. Jérôme d’Ambrosio and Kamui Kobayashi started from 2nd and 22nd places on the grid, and tried to get the best out of the difficult weather conditions as the race was held on a wet track.
Jérôme started from the front row thanks to his 7th place yesterday. He had a few problems holding on to his position at the start, and he finally came home sixth scoring an additional point that helped him overtake one of his rivals. He finished the drivers’ championship in 11th position.
Kamui fought his way back up through the field and saw the flag in 13th place. His 2008 score was 10 points giving him 16th position in the championship.
DAMS ended the 2008 GP2 Series Championship in 8th spot in the teams’ ratings with 31 points. Next year its aim will be to make a big push to the front and go for the title. In the meantime, its next challenge will be the Asian GP2 Championship, which kicks off in a few weeks in Shanghai.
DAMS would like to thank its partners, its personnel and all its supporters for their efforts and all the work they did throughout the championship. Another racing season has finished and it’s also been a passionately exciting adventure from a human point of view.
Eric Boullier, team manager: “We’ve finished the season in the points and that’s very important psychologically speaking. Jérôme’s result helped him move up a place in the championship: well done! Kamui has been dogged by a lot of bad luck this year, and his final result isn’t a true reflection of his talent. Our place in the teams’ classification isn’t in keeping with our ambitions, and our aim is to be among those fighting for the title in 2009. I’d like to take advantage of the end of the season to thank the whole team for the quality of their work.”
Jérôme d’Ambrosio2nd on the grid, 6th at the finish
“It was a difficult race but at least I managed to score points for the sixth consecutive time. The season’s ended on a positive note and I’ve showed I’ve got what it takes to battle with the front-runners. My thanks to all those who’ve believed in my skills this year. I promise them I’ll do a better job in 2009.”
Kamui Kobayashi22nd on the grid, 13th at the finish
A good fightback but no points. This season I’ve had the feeling that I’ve never been able to string everything together to be in a position to win. On the one hand, it’s kind of frustrating. On the other, we knew that if we managed to stack the cards in our favour we had the potential to become the best. That’ll be our future objective. I’d like to take advantage of the last race to thank the whole DAMS team. From a human point of view the season I’ve spent with them has been a deeply rewarding one.”
