DAMS still at the front!
The winter hibernation is over for the GP2 Series! The 24 cars entered in the 2013 championship had a 3-day test on the Jerez circuit in Spain. DAMS the reigning double champions2012 teams' and drivers' titleslived up to its reputation by always being among the front-runners in the first round of preparatory practice for the coming season.
As the French squad has a completely new driver line-up, its first job was to check that everything was working smoothly within the team itself and this aim was achieved. Marcus Ericsson and Stphane Richelmi, the new recruits even though they had already tested with the team in 2012, found their marks almost immediately. Proof of this is the fact that over the three days they were never outside the top 6 and they set almost identical times.
In addition to experimenting and finding the best setups, DAMS was faced with another huge task, namely: getting to grips with the new hard and medium Pirelli tyres. They obviously managed to do so and they will continue in the same vein next week in the second session on the Montmelo circuit beside Barcelona. Overall, the DAMS squad is very satisfied with the results of the first 2013 test.
Jean-Paul Driot, CEO: "The return to the nitty-gritty has gone off very well. Our first aim was to help our drivers to get to know a new environment and this was achieved without a hitch. We also had a lot of technical work to be done on the setups and the new tyres. We had to accumulate the maximum possible amount of information, and we completed our programme very satisfactorily. Unlike Formula 1 the times are much more representative of the actual performances so it's very encouraging to see that we're still at the front. Marcus Ericsson showed that he has the speed we expected from him at this level. Stphane Richelmi really surprised us by setting very quick and consistent times and this helped him set the fastest lap on the second day. The drivers already get on very well. The team's working well together and that's a good sign before the start of the season."
